Haunted by an Angel
by LoquitorLatinae
Summary: It was Sora's first real crush, and it had to be with a dead person. But that doesn't mean it can't be love. RikuSora, LeonCloud, AxelRoxas, others. AU. Author's note addition up.
1. Prologue: 1882

Salue! This is my first fan-fiction, like, ever. Hope you enjoy! I'd love any reviews!

AU. Summery: A present day family. A new strangely inexpensive home. Is it haunted? RikuSora, LeonCloud, AxelRoxas, others. I'm going to try to keep this rated T so a wider audience can read it, here's hoping I can downplay violence and romance! (A/N: I resubmitted the first chapter…Now Sephiroth's name is actually spelled right.)

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June 21, 1882

Riku stared out the window from his second-story bedroom, the slightly warped glass making the fields outside a blur of gold and brown. It wasn't fair. It was the longest day of the year, the day when all of his friends would be out playing, maybe fooling around by the creek or meeting at the park.

And here he was. Stuck in the house for the past three days due to a cold. Apparently his father thought it might be tuberculosis, but really, there hadn't been a single sign of the disease in their region for ten years. But his father was overprotective and so Riku had been confined to his room, all because of a cough.

Sighing, Riku stood up from the window seat and walked over to his writing desk, tucking a strand of silver hair behind his ear. His hair would have to be cut soon; it was already past his shoulders. Soon the people in town would be talking about how much it made him look like his father. Not that there was anything wrong with looking like his father. He would just rather have his own identity.

Smothering a quiet cough with his hand, he sifted through a small stack of letters. They were his college applications and he was confident that he would be getting into at least one of the five he applied for. After all, he had had a private tutor, never even setting foot in one of those one-room shacks people called schoolhouses. He had even learned Latin and French, languages left usually only for the highest class.

With a quiet sigh, Riku pulled his hair back into a messy ponytail and tucked the letters under his arm before walking out into the hall. His shoes clicked against the polished wooden floors as he left his room before he quieted his steps, realizing the noise he was making. If his father caught him out of his room, he was sure to get a long lecture.

Tip-toeing down the stairs, Riku kept one hand on the banister, craning his neck as he peered over the railing looking for any sign of life. Seeing none, he made a quick dash for the front door, the seventeen-year-old uncharacteristically inelegant as he ripped open the front door and ran out into the hot summer air.

Freedom.

Grinning, Riku closed his eyes and took a deep breath of the fresh air. After being trapped in his room for the past few days, he was grateful for the warm rays of the sun against his pale cheeks. Covering another cough, he began the walk down their long driveway to the main road and mailbox, enjoying the scenery as he meandered along. The house was cradled by evergreen hills, the land in front covered in sprawling fields. His father was a lawyer by trade, a landlord by hobby. Several farmers lived on their property, his father renting out the land for a cheap price in return for a percentage of their profits.

As he reached the main road, Riku was surprised to hear a mechanical sputtering coming from around the bend. Slipping his letters into the mailbox, he tilted his head to the side, his delicate lips pursing as an automobile came chugging around the corner, its motor audibly straining. It must have needed to be wound again.

There was only one reason an automobile would be coming out so far into the countryside and Riku took a preemptive step back, allowing it room to pull into their driveway.

As if seeing him for the first time, the portly man in the driver's seat slowed the car down. Riku was able to identify him as the sheriff as the man stopped, leaning over the steering wheel and smiling broadly, "Riku! You're looking well for a lad supposedly sick to near-death."

Riku smirked, crossing his arms, "Yes, well you know my father. As you can see, I'm perfectly healthy." Remembering himself as a host, he dropped his hands to the sides, nodding his head respectfully, "May we help you with something, sir?"

The sheriff's round face darkened, "Yes. I have come to speak with your father. Is he at home?"

"He has been in his office for the entire day as far as I know."

"Good, good." The sheriff nodded then a new smile sprang onto his face, "Here, why don't you hop up onto the seat next to me. It'll make the trip faster for the both of us."

Riku grudgingly climbed up onto the contraption, leaning back into the leather seat as the automobile growled along the gravel drive. The machine was making enough noise to bring his father out of the study. He sighed, deciding to enjoy the last few seconds of freedom he had left and closed his eyes.

"So, Riku, I heard you were applying for a college out in England."

Riku cracked open an aquamarine eye, tilting his head to look at the man, "Yes, but Oxford was only for fun, just to see if I could. I'm hoping to get into a school a little closer, something that wouldn't take me weeks of sailing to get to." The older man chuckled, nodding as he adjusted his grip on the steering wheel.

"Well I'm sure you'll be able to get into any school you want. You're one of the brightest young men in the town."

Seeing the tension in the sheriff's hands, Riku frowned, "Did something happen in town?"

The man startled, smiling weakly as he chuckled, "What makes you say that?"

"I hate to say it sir, but you never come just for a social call. Not to mention that Father is the best lawyer in town. But I have to say I haven't seen you so tense before. Is something wrong?"

The sheriff chuckled, pushing his hat up as he scratched his hairline. "I'm a little hesitant to say anything until I see your father. That's going to let me know how serious the situation is. You understand."

Riku frowned at the vague reply but let it go, focusing instead on the front door to his house, which had just been drawn open by his father. Who was looking rather irritated. Shrinking down into the bench seat, Riku hoped to hide behind the rather large shadow of the sheriff but the man had to ruin his plans and wave. "Good afternoon, Sephiroth. I was just giving your boy a ride back from the mailbox. He seems as healthy as a horse if you ask me."

Sephiroth's sharp green eyes narrowed in on Riku, his arms crossing over his chest after he offered the sheriff a thin smile, "Thank you for bringing him back to the house. I wasn't even aware that he had left his room…"

Cringing as his father's voice dropped to a dangerous level, Riku slipped off of the automobile, clearing his throat quietly to hide an incriminating cough. Sephiroth only raised an eyebrow, moving to the side as his son slunk past him and back into the house.

Waiting until he heard the sound of shoes going up the stairs, Sephiroth turned to the sheriff, motioning for him to come inside. "Please, come in. I'll have the butler get some drinks ready."

"Thank you. It was a rather hot ride, sometimes I do wish automobiles came with shade."

Sephiroth shook his head, a smirk on his face as he followed the sheriff into the house, sending a warning glare up at the stairs when he saw a flash of silver dart up the landing but didn't peruse the issue further. If Riku wanted to listen in, Sephiroth wasn't going to stop him.

Riku frowned as his father and the sheriff sat down in the study. So his father was allowing him to listen in. That certainly took away some of the mystic of eavesdropping. Still, he crept down the stairs, curiosity getting the best of him as he slipped over to the open doorway.

Facing each other on opposite couches, his father was sitting as dignified as always, his long silver hair pulled back in a braid. The sheriff had his hands clasped together over his knees, his hat lying on the couch beside him as he spoke in a low, hushed voice. "Sephiroth, I've got some bad news."

"What is it?"

"Last night, some time around midnight…Well, you remember that man you prosecuted five years ago? Ansem?" Sephiroth nodded hesitantly. "Sephiroth, he escaped from the jailhouse."

Riku's aqua eyes widened as his father let out a small gasp. Sephiroth never gasped; he never showed fear or any sort. Clutching the wooden doorframe so hard his knuckles went white, Riku began to listen in on every word spoken.

"Ansem…" Sephiroth wove his fingers together, "I hoped I would never have to think about him again. That madman. How did he escape?"

"One of the guards got within two feet of the cage. He was new and inexperienced. Ansem strangled him and stole the keys. Once he got out of the cell it was all over. All of the guards were killed. It was…" The portly man sighed sadly and wiped at his brow with a handkerchief he had pulled from his back pocket. "It was complete carnage. We have no idea where he went, Sephiroth-"

Sephiroth cut him off, "But you think he's coming here."

The sheriff nodded miserably, "You were the only one he talked about in prison. He said some rather threatening things while he was locked up. I'm worried about your safety, Sephiroth. The longer he stays on the run, the more time he has to think of a way to get to you. I'm bringing men over tomorrow to guard the house."

Sephiroth shook his head, "I don't want you to waste so much manpower, not after what Ansem did in the jailhouse."

"It wasn't a yes or no question. You need protection, Sephiroth. And not only for yourself."

Sephiroth's eyes narrowed and Riku could swear his gaze darted fleetingly over to the door he was hiding behind before he spoke up, his voice cold as ice. "Are you suggesting he would try and hurt Riku?"

The sheriff shrugged helplessly. "I don't know what to tell you. He knows you have a son, everyone in town knows. I'm just saying, we shouldn't underestimate him in any way. It's nearing harvest time, you know that. He could get lost in the fields for days without being found and live off the crops. We've set out dogs looking for him but so far he's manage to loose them one way or another." The sheriff frowned, looking up at the clock on the mantel above the fireplace. "I have to get back to town and organize a new search. I'd suggest you find yourself a gun and wait it out inside your house until I send out a watch."

Sephiroth nodded curtly, standing up as the sheriff did. Riku shuffled back into the hall, moving around the kitchen just as the sheriff stepped out into the reception hall. He listened as the front door opened then closed, his father's voice calling out a moment later. "Riku, come here."

Riku stepped into view carefully, straightening his jacket as he looked up questioningly at Sephiroth. He had never seen his father look as serious as he looked now and it sent a shiver down his spine. "Riku," his father's voice brought him back from his thoughts. "I know you heard my conversation with the sheriff, so I shouldn't have to repeat what was said."

Frowning, Riku looked up at the older silver-haired male. "Father, this man, Ansem, do you really think he will come to try and kill you?"

"I can't say Riku, I really can't." Sephiroth closed his eyes then rubbed the bridge of his nose, "Whether he is coming or not, we should not take the risk. I will have the butler ready our carriage, we can take a impromptu vacation to the coast until the man is found. Go pack your things. Be down here within the hour."

Riku nodded, hurrying up to his room. He paused at the door, reality hitting him. His father was running away from something. From someone. Personally, Riku had never met this Ansem, but he was already beginning to fear him. Shaking his head, Riku pulled his trunk out from underneath his bed. It was foolish, fearing someone he had never met; it was childish. And Riku was no child. And yet he snapped open his trunk and began to fill it with his clothes and a few books that he might want to read should they be staying at the coast long.

Putting his hands on his hips, he glanced around at his room. It looked like he had packed everything worth any value. His room looked oddly barren without his books or his coat hanging over the back of his chair. The afternoon was shining in through his window, casting a dusty ray over the window seat and onto the hardwood floor, bathing the room in gold. Sighing, Riku ran a hand over his hair, his eyes widening as he caught sight of something glinting on his desk. It was the silver necklace his mother had given him before she had passed away.

A smile touched his lips as he reached for it, "How could I have forgotten you?" Just as his fingers were touching the cool metal, a bang shattered the calm summer air. Startled, Riku's hand slipped, pushing the necklace off the desk. It bounced on the wooden floor, rolling under his bed. Uttering a light curse, Riku was about to crouch down to fetch it when there was another crash downstairs.

Riku walked over to his bedroom door, a frown on his face. "Father, is everything alright?" Hearing no answer but instead a series of fumbling and scuffles, Riku rolled his eyes. He knew his father was in a hurry to pack, but that was no reason to be throwing things around the house. After a brief moment of thought, he decided it would probably be better to go and help. His father probably had a lot of legal papers he wanted to bring with them.

Walking down the staircase, he leaned over the railing, his frown deepening when he heard nothing but silence. "Father?" No answer. Riku sighed and continued down, his hand sliding along the banister, falling to his side when he saw that the front door was hanging open. Warm air was bleeding into the house, a few leaves creeping in with a hot gust of wind.

Riku closed the door with a firm push then continued down the hall. His father's study door was open but his ears caught the sound of a rustle coming from the parlor. Changing course, Riku peeked into the room then felt his eyes widen with shock as a near-silent gasp escaped past his lips.

His father was pinned against the mantel by a person Riku had never seen before, one of the stranger's hands wrapped around Sephiroth's throat as the other held a gun to the side of his head. The man was as tall as his father, and from the back looked oddly similar with long silver hair.

Swallowing, Riku looked quickly around for some sort of weapon. His eyes fell on his father's sword not a few inches from his left shoe. It clattering to the ground must have been what had startled him in the first place.

Riku wrapped his fingers around the hilt of the long blade as his father's eyes flashed over to him. He met the aqua gaze with his own, but the contact must have been a second too long, the man choking his father snapped his head around. The man let out a short, deep laugh, letting Sephiroth drop to the floor as he pointed the gun at Riku's chest. "How brave, the son coming to his father's rescue."

Riku attempted to keep a brave front as he brought the sword up, "You're Ansem, aren't you?"

"Oh, and you're smart too. However did you deduce that?"

The sneering sarcasm was overwhelming the man's voice but Riku held his ground, his eyes slipping briefly to his father who was finally beginning to get his breath back.

"Don't take your eyes off the enemy boy or you may just lose them!" Riku's attention snapped back to Ansem just to see a candlestick holder from their mantel coming toward his face. Letting out a shout, he dove to the side, the chunk of metal just missing him by inches and hitting a picture on the wall behind him instead. The glass shattered on impact as the frame fell to the floor. Riku threw an arm up in defense as it rained down onto him.

Ansem's cold laugh rang through the house as Riku scrambled to his feet, the sound sending a cold tremor down Riku's spine. "You know Sephiroth, I have found a better way to give you the pain you deserve for putting me away. He's such a handsome boy. He'll be terribly missed, wouldn't you say?"

Sephiroth's eyes narrowed and he shook his head, his voice raspy from the chokehold, "Don't you dare hurt him Ansem. I swear to God you will regret it."

"We'll see."

Riku barely had time to think as Ansem raised the gun and the sound of a thunder filled the room. Pain. Red-hot searing pain filled his senses and the next thing Riku knew red was blooming from a small hole in his shirt and he had fallen to the ground.

He heard his father shout something but it was too hard to breathe to concentrate on the exact words. He could smell burnt gunpowder as the sword was pulled from his clenched fingers.

There was another shout, one of pain this time and Riku forced his gaze over to the action to see his father pulling his sword out of Ansem's torso with a trembling hand, the blade painted a deep ruby red.

Riku opened his mouth but the only noise that came out was a strange gasping noise that brought the taste of coppery blood to his lips. It was all the sound it took to bring his father to his side. A second later Riku felt a hand underneath his head, lifting him up as another hand lay over the bullet wound on his chest.

"Riku! Stay with me son, we need to get you to the doctor's!"

Coughing, Riku stared up at his father with wide eyes. He had never seen his father look so scared before. It didn't suit his usually stoic face at all.

"Come on, I'll carry you to the carriage. Just stay awake!"

Riku didn't know how he was supposed to stay awake. He was so tired. It would be okay to close his eyes for just a moment.

"Riku!"

After all, it wasn't like he was never going to open his eyes again.

"Riku!"

He would be fine…


	2. Chapter 1: New Beginnings

A/N: Thank you for all of the reviews! Whenever I saw that I had a new one it would give me a new burst of energy for writing! But yes, sadly, Riku had to die…It wouldn't be much of a story if he hadn't! Introducing new characters in this chapter, which took a bit of thinking because I had to think of good jobs for all of the adults…

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March 15, 1999

Roxas woke up with a start as something dropped onto his chest, thrashing blindly until he realized that it was only Sora. "Mn…S'ra?"

"H-Hey, Roxas! Can I sleep in your bed tonight?"

Hearing the tremble in his big brother's voice, Roxas frowned and tried to wake his groggy mind up, "Is something wrong?"

"Um…maybe…" Sora smiled shakily, his voice dropping to a whisper. "Roxas, I think the orphanage is haunted."

"What?"

Sora waited for Roxas to sit up, scooting so that he was sitting side by side the smaller boy. After he had pulled the bed sheets up around both of their waists, Sora spoke again, his voice still quiet so as not to disturb the other boys who shared their room. "I heard footsteps out in the hall. Then the doorknob rattled and there was even a shadow under the door!"

Roxas shook his head, sighing as he ran a hand through his messy blond spikes. "I knew you shouldn't have read those scary books…" He glanced over and saw Sora twisting the sheets worriedly in his hands, his near-identical blue eyes wide. Sighing, Roxas reached over and pulled the sheets out of Sora's hands then tugged them down. "Fine. Get in. But you're going to have to explain when they see you out of your bed in the morning."

Sora nodded agreeably, grinning as he snuggled down next to the other small body. "Thanks!"

"Mm-hmm…"

The next morning Roxas was woken up to the sensation of something gently prodding his shoulder. Reaching up to rub his eyes, he rolled over, grunting as his face hit a mess of soft spikes. That's right, Sora slept in his bed last night. Opening an eye, Roxas glared sleepily at whoever dared to wake him up. It was one of the workers, Aerith. Roxas's glare softened when he identified the kind-hearted woman. She was smiling down at them, her soft voice a comforting first sound to hear in the morning, "Good morning sleepy-head. I see you and Sora had a sleepover."

The teasing tone was unmistakable but Roxas still frowned defensively, muttering, "He thought he heard a ghost in the hallway."

"Oh, it must have been one of the late-night staff," Aerith's smile turned apologetic, "I will have to remind them to be a little more quiet when walking through the halls." She blinked then put a hand to her lips, "But I almost forgot when I came here! We have to wake Sora up, a couple has come in looking to adopt someone his age."

Roxas felt his stomach drop, his throat suddenly tight. Seeing his sick expression, Aerith frowned sympathetically, leaning down to rub his shoulder. "I'm sorry Roxas but it is standard procedure. But don't worry, the other children have already been introduced. By the time Sora gets there they will probably have already chosen someone else."

"Ya, maybe." Roxas's voice sounded dead even to him but he still sat up and nudged Sora's shoulder. Sora murmured softly, swatting the hand away as he pulled his pillow closer to his face. Seeing the resistance, Roxas scowled and shook Sora harder, punching his shoulder for good measure as Sora groaned and sat up.

Seeing the boy's eyes blink open sleepily, Aerith walked over to his side of the bed, "Good morning Sora! It's time to get up and out of bed! There's a potential family in the lobby and you need to make a good impression!"

Seeing that his brother was still only half-awake, Roxas shook his head. "I'll bring him out in a few minutes, Aerith. He might even look presentable."

Aerith straightened up, her pink skirt whispering around her legs as she nodded, "Thank you Roxas. I would appreciate it. Come outside soon, okay?"

Nodding, Roxas watched as she walked out of the room before turning back to Sora, rolling his eyes when he saw that his brother had fallen back asleep.

When they made it outside into the lobby, Sora had changed out of his pajamas, looking like some attempt had been made to tame his hair. Roxas hung back at the doorway to the lobby as he watched Sora walk toward two men. The men looked young. One of them looked surprisingly like Roxas with his spiky blond hair and blue eyes, though the man's eyes were more of an electric green-blue. The other man had brown hair that nearly touched his shoulders, his smoky grey eyes making him look a little less approachable but friendly nonetheless. Both of them looked rather stoic; Roxas wasn't sure if they would be able to make Sora happy.

Roxas watched as they leaned down to talk to Sora, his older brother as bouncy and energetic as ever. Roxas wanted to tell him to stop being so friendly. He was going to get himself adopted if he wasn't careful, and then they would be split up.

Roxas held his breath as Sora laughed, the two men looking at each other before the blond crouched down. This was it, they were going to take his big brother away. The men and Sora were speaking quietly now, Roxas couldn't hear what they were saying, but he was surprised when three sets of eyes turned toward the doorway he was hiding behind. He let out a muffled squeak as Sora waved. "Roxas, come over here!"

Eyes narrowed suspiciously, Roxas shuffled into the room, wishing he had paid more attention to his own appearance as he latched onto Sora's arm. Grinning, Sora wrapped his arm around Roxas's shoulder, "Roxas, this is Leon and Cloud!" Lowering his voice he spoke in what he thought was a whisper, "They asked if I would like to be adopted but I told them I wouldn't go without you!"

Roxas frowned, glancing up at the two men. The blond, the one named Cloud, held out his hand, "Hey Roxas."

Staring at the hand for a moment, Roxas reluctantly took it, muttering a quick "Hello," before latching back onto Sora's arm.

Cloud smiled a little, taking in the boys' appearances. "I can definitely tell you two are brothers…" He stood up, glancing over at Leon, his voice hopeful. "What do you think?"

Uncrossing his arms, Leon smiled a bit, "Well, we were only planning on one, but it would be wrong to split up brothers." Crouching down, he looked Roxas straight in the eyes. "As of now, we only have an apartment. It would be small, and the two of you would have to share a room but…" He paused then his smile grew softer, "But we would love it if you wanted to be part of our family."

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Present Day

May 4, 2007

"Sora!"

The brown-haired teen stopped in his tracks, turning around to smile at the older man who had yelled out his name, "Yes?"

"Don't think you can get out of helping us carry any boxes in. Here, take this one, it's marked for the kitchen."

Sighing, Sora trudged over to the moving van, unable to help the whine that escaped him. "But Leon! I want to go see the house!"

"You can still see the house while you're carrying something. Multitask Sora." Leon said as he placed a medium-sized cardboard box into the younger's arms. As he turned back to the packed moving-van, Leon ran a hand through his hair, relaxing a bit as he felt a familiar hand on his shoulder.

"Relax Leon, the house isn't going anywhere."

Smiling a bit, Leon leaned back against his husband's body, "I know." He smirked, "I still can't believe we managed to get it for such a great deal. I still think it must be rotting off of its foundations for the owner to sell it so cheap."

Cloud chuckled, "Well you did say you wanted a house you would be able to restore. I guess you got what you wished for."

"Hmph, I guess I did."

"But the architecture is wonderful at least." Cloud nodded to the house. It was the oldest building in the neighborhood, in fact, the residential area they were in had apparently grown up around it. Once an undoubtedly grand but cozy estate house, the structure was now a little worse for wear. The paint was peeling off of the outside walls and some of the shutters needed to be replaced. From what Cloud and Leon had been able to tell on the initial walk-through, the inside of the house was in no better condition. Apparently the elderly woman who had lived there before them had let the place go. It was still a lovely house, but it was definitely in need of some renovations.

"So this is the place then?" Leon and Cloud looked over as their younger adopted son climbed out of the back seat of their car. He was dressed in his usual punk clothes, a black and white checkered theme prominent on his jacket and bracelet. Two years younger than Sora, his eyes were still narrowed with an expression of irritation his brother had yet to master.

Leon motioned over to the house with a flick of his head, used to the fourteen-year-old's attitude by now. "What do you think, Roxas? Do you like it?"

"Well, it's completely run down, the nearest skate park is an hour away, and my friends are all on the other side of the city." He paused then smirked, "But, all in all it's okay. Better than the apartment anyway."

Leon nodded, knowing that was Roxas's way of saying that he liked it. "I'm glad you think so. Why don't you head on in the house? I'm sure Sora's already picking out what room he wants."

That got Roxas moving. Slamming the car door, he raced up the driveway and into the house. Leon was happy to see Roxas so excited, but then again, they were moving from a two bedroom apartment into an actual house. It would be hard for the teen not to be excited. For the first time Roxas would finally be able to have his own room.

"It's nice to see them both so happy."

Leon nodded, smiling as he felt Cloud's arm wrap around him. Enjoying the contact for a moment, he closed his eyes for a bit then reluctantly pulled away, "We should probably help move things into the house."

"Probably." Cloud walked over to the back of the moving van and heaved a large box onto his shoulder.

"Do you have that okay?" Leon caught Cloud's incredulous look and smirked, "Right. Stupid question. I'll see you inside."

When Leon got in, he set his box down in the hallway, quickly scanning the house as he stepped aside to let Cloud outside for another run. It was dusty and smelled like molding wallpaper, but it was beautiful all the same. The wooden floors were a deep mahogany, the paneling that covered the bottom half of the wall matching the floors. Above the wooden paneling was a dark wallpaper, some of the edges peeling away to reveal off-white plaster behind it. Hearing the sound of feet thumping upstairs, Leon glanced up to see Sora thundering down the stairs, the teen nearly tripping on the last step as he hopped over to where Leon was standing.

"This house is awesome!" The cheerful brown-haired boy said, grinning widely as he peeked around Leon to look at the former parlor. "It's huge! And all old and stuff! I mean, it needs work but we finally get our own rooms!"

Roxas appeared on the second story landing, a scowl on his face, "Hey, Leon, where's the second bathroom up here?"

"There's no master bath, Roxas, their's only one bathroom upstairs."

"Seriously?" Roxas's frown deepened incredulously, "But that thing's tiny."

Cloud pushed his way into the front door, his arms laden down with two more boxes. Having caught the last of Roxas's complaining, he spoke up for Leon, "It's an old house. Back in the day you would be lucky if you even had indoor plumbing."

Roxas let out an irritated breath, spinning back around toward what Leon assumed was his new room. "Well I sure feel lucky…call me down for dinner."

"He's certainly settling in well," Cloud muttered, setting his boxes down hap-hazardly in the hall, stretching his back as he straightened back up.

Leon nodded, "I think we'll be lucky if we see him more than an hour from now on." His eyes happened to graze over his wristwatch then widened, a quiet curse escaping him as he did a double take, "Shit. I'm going to be late for work. Cloud, do you know where the boxes with our clothes are?"

"Somewhere in the truck, but I packed your uniform into the back seat of the car. Figured you might need it." He smiled as Leon pecked his cheek thankfully then ran out toward the car, the brown-haired man rushing into the house a moment later to change in the nearest room with a door. If there was one thing that mattered to Leon, it was getting to work on time. Cloud supposed that punctuality was a good trait for a police officer to have, along with all of Leon's other characteristics that suited him perfectly for the job.

Sora frowned as the door closed with a soft thud, "Aw, Leon has to go to work today? But who's going to unpack everything?"

"That would be you, me, and our favorite little punk. Speaking of whom, why don't you go see if you can drag Roxas out of his room?"

Sora paused then smirked, the expression alerting Cloud to the fact that the teen had a rather devious plan in mind. The blond shrugged it off though, pretending he hadn't seen anything as Leon came out of one of the side rooms, straightening his navy tie. Cloud smiled lightly as Leon walked over to him, tilting his head to the side, "Well Sergeant, when do think you're going to be getting back?"

Leon sighed, "As soon as I can. Are you going to be okay here in the new house?"

"Relax. We probably won't even do much unpacking. We'll " Cloud chuckled and reached out to straighten Leon's badge as Leon sighed. Glancing up at the other's face, Cloud raised a blond eyebrow. "What?"

"I just feel a little guilty going to work when you took a day off."

"The hospital can handle one less nurse, and as for my class I can always get the information from the website. However, there are only a few competent Sergeants out there, and you're one of them." He rolled his eyes as Leon's face remained guilty and punched the slightly taller man on the shoulder, "Get out of here, you're going to be late."

"Hm? Oh, right. I'll call you if I'm going to be gone past ten."

Cloud nodded, kissing Leon's cheek, "Okay. I love you. Get out."

"Whatever…"

Cloud laughed quietly at the younger man's reply, closing the door once Leon had gotten into the car. He crossed his arms as he turned his attention back to the hallway which was already flooded with stacks of boxes. Luckily they didn't have too much more to pull from the moving van; though it really was amazing how much stuff they had managed to accumulate in their apartment over the years. At least the move had given them a good chance to organize everything; what with Leon's unpredictable schedule and Cloud's late night classes as he studied for his doctorate, they had never had the energy to do anything about the clutter in their house before.

He looked up as Sora came back down the stairs, a frown touching his lips as the teen covered his mouth to smother a cough. "Are you getting sick Sora?"

"Um, I didn't think so…" Sora smiled sheepishly after he coughed again, "But, maybe? It just started a few minutes ago."

"It's probably just the dust being kicked up that's irritating your lungs but we'll keep an eye on it to be safe. Where's your brother?"

"Putting up his posters. He'll be down in a minute." Sora grinned, "He promised to help unpack after I threatened to sing along to Disney soundtracks!"

Smiling, Cloud shook his head, "You are truly a cruel negotiator. Now, we still have a few more boxes to bring out from the moving van, which we should get back to the truck yard before six or else they'll charge us for an extra day."

"But Cloud, what if I really am sick? Then working would be bad for me right?" Sora gave Cloud his best sympathy face but Cloud only motioned toward the door. Sighing, Sora's expression fell in to a pout but he shuffled over to the door, muffling a cough as his brown spikes passed under Cloud's nose. Following after his adopted son, Cloud glanced back at the stairs before he went outside, "Roxas, hurry up!"

"Ya, ya, I'm coming!"

Cloud nodded, turning back to see Sora running to the back of the van. It was a good feeling, being in your own home. The gravel crunched under his feet as he walked down the driveway, the late spring afternoon spreading around the scent of the flowers already planted on the property. Cloud stopped though as he felt a slight prickling on the back of his neck, as if someone was watching him. Turning around, the saw the curtains shift in the one of the second story windows, floating back into place before Roxas burst out the front door a moment later, the young teen grumbling as he pulled on a black hoodie. "You certainly made good time getting down here," Cloud said, rubbing the back of his neck.

Roxas raised an eyebrow, "Ya, I guess, except for the last minute I spent trying to get my shoes on in the hallway."

"How was the view from your room?"

"So-so. It's all trees, which I guess is kinda cool."

Cloud frowned, tilting his head to the side, "Whose bedroom looks out front?"

"Oh, that's Sora's. He got the room with the window seat."

"Oh." Running a hand through his spiky hair, Cloud looked back up at the window then sighed. If Roxas hadn't moved the curtain that meant there was probably a draft seeping in from a crack in the window frame. Ah the joys of owning a home.


	3. Chapter 2: First Contact

Wow, getting reviews is pretty awesome! Makes me feel loved and all that mushy stuff. I feel like I should say a little personal thanks to all those who bothered to write me their thoughts, so, if you didn't review, just jump down until you see the line break. XD

Satsukifujin: Being the first person to break the ice and send me a review, I think you deserve to be thanked first. So…thanks! It was much appreciated, made me feel all warm and fuzzy inside!

Smiley Smackdown: Thanks for the initial encouragement! You certainly know how to get someone motivated to write more! As for whether Riku will bother Sora in the middle of the night…We'll just have to see. Maybe he won't even have to wait for the sun to set to freak Sora out.

Plain Jane Is A Vampire: Thanks…? I hope you meant "interesting" in the good sense of the word…if you did, thanks. :D

Subaru: Don't worry, there's more story to come. Haven't gotten it all planned out, but there's definitely more. Besides, I'm not the kind of person just to drop a story after the first few chapters. That would just be cruel and unusual punishment.

DramaQueen1193: Well, here's the next chapter, hope you enjoy it! As for things happening, we'll both just cross our fingers. The first chapter was a little ghost-free, but you have to build some sort of foundation for a story! Not to mention that once things get rolling, I think the story will move along pretty quickly.

earth2water1element: Your review for my first chapter sent me into a little flurry of excitement with all those explanation points!! (And excitement in the "Someone loves me" sort of way, of course!) I'm making sure to update as quickly as possible, just for reviewers like you!

XOoPunkPixieoOX: Dude, thanks for the compliment on my writing! It really made me feel good, it was like another artist saying they liked my painting. And ya, Sephiroth did get the short end of the stick there…but that's okay, because he's Sephiroth. ;D

Tysonkaiexperiment: You hate Riku? I'm too thankful for the review to argue, so, thanks! Each to their own preferences! And thanks for the overall compliment about the story, I was pretty much a nervous wreck putting that first chapter up!

Jynxer120: Yup, that's me; unpredictably predictable! ;) And thanks for saying you liked my writing, once again, it was really nice to hear that someone enjoyed it!

Kanpa: I know, I spelled Sephiroth wrong. Funny enough, I figured it out an hour after originally posting, but was just too lazy to fix it. Your review finally kicked me in gear though, so, thanks for getting me off my lazy behind!

We will now return you to your regular program! Thanks for the reviews!

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May 6, 2007

Sora closed his eyes miserably as Cloud's cool hand rested on his forehead, the man's voice soft as he spoke up, "He definitely has a fever. Nothing too bad but it would be better if he stayed home from school. Get ready for cold, Sora." Sora still yelped as a stethoscope pressed against his chest, opening his eyes to see Cloud leaning over him, Leon hovering by the door, already dressed in his uniform. "Take a deep breath." Sora complied and Cloud listened carefully, his eyes narrowing as he repeated the command, waiting a moment before he straightened up and pulled the stethoscope away from his ears. "There's a slight rattle, but luckily it doesn't sound like anything too serious." The blond man smiled reassuringly down at Sora, "It seems that you have nothing more than a bad cold. Lucky you, I won't be shoving antibiotics down your throat this time."

Sora let out a sigh of relief. Having a nurse as a father was both a blessing and a curse at times. He was never able to fake sick to skip school, but it also meant he got free check-ups the first instance something seemed off. Sora looked up at Leon as the other man made a noise of frustration and raked a hand through his hair. "I can't stay home today. We're just wrapping up one of our cold cases and I'm supposed to be the one to interview the suspect."

Cloud shrugged helplessly, "I can't stay either. The hospital is already going to be short on staff."

"I can stay!"

"No Roxas, you're going to school." Leon said, glaring down at the young teen warningly as Roxas leaned into the room. Roxas huffed, rolling his eyes before continuing on his original path down the hallway to the bathroom as he got ready for school.

Sora bit his lip then looked up at his parents, "I-It's okay. I can stay at home by myself."

Cloud and Leon glanced at each other before Cloud looked back at him, tilting his head to the side. "Are you sure? We wouldn't want you to feel uncomfortable in the new house…"

Shaking his head, Sora smiled, "I'll be fine. I am sixteen after all, I can take care of myself," he covered a cough before continuing, "Besides, Cloud said it wasn't anything serious, right? I'll just watch TV all day. And Roxas will come home around three-thirty." Truthfully, Sora wasn't so sure about being alone for so long, the idea of being in such a big, empty house kind of gave him the creeps but he shook the feeling off. After all, both Cloud and Leon had busy days today, it wouldn't be fair to ask them to stay. And he wasn't about to give Roxas a reason to skip school, he knew that his blond-haired little brother had already skipped enough classes on his own to go skateboard with his friends. It wasn't that Roxas was a delinquent; he was just getting bored with middle school.

Leon sighed then nodded, "If you're sure your fine with it…Before we leave I'll write our cell phone numbers down and put the numbers on the kitchen counter. Call us if you need anything. There's leftovers in the fridge if you feel like eating anything and the movies are still in the box next to the stereo system."

"Try not to stress your body out, it's already working hard enough against that cold." Cloud put his hand to Sora's forehead again, "The medicine under the bathroom sink should work for you. Go ahead and take some every few hours if you think you need it. Call if you think you're getting any worse."

Nodding, Sora grabbed a tissue from the box placed strategically on his bedside table, blowing his nose before pulling away with a small frown when he saw Cloud and Leon's worried faces. "I'll be fine! Don't worry about me, you have people to throw in jail and heal and stuff. Really, I'll be okay! I'm only going to be sitting here or on the couch!"

The cell phone in Leon's pocket rang, breaking through his guilty silence as he flipped it open, his eyes sharpening in a business-like fashion as he listened to the person on the other end. "Okay…No, I'll be in soon…Just keep him busy until I get there…I don't know how…. I don't care if he won't talk to y-Damn it, Yuffie, aren't you supposed to be good at holding one-sided conversations?" Letting out an exasperated growl, Leon rolled his eyes, "Fine, fine. I'm leaving the house now. See you in a few minutes." Snapping the phone shut without waiting for a reply from the other end, Leon smiled thinly, "That was Yuffie."

Sora grinned, "Ya, I could tell."

"I've got to go into work now. Cloud, could you give Roxas a ride to school?"

Cloud raised an eyebrow, "On my bike?"

"I know, but I don't have time to drop him off-"

He was cut off as Roxas appeared in the doorway again, his backpack slung over his shoulder. "Are you kidding me? I get to ride Cloud's bike? That's frickin' awesome!" Sora and Roxas never got a chance to ride Cloud's bike as Cloud was known to go rather fast around turns and generally disregard speed limits. "I'm ready to go to school then! Sorry you're feeling sick, Sora, but we've got to go!"

Sora pouted as Roxas pulled Cloud out of the room. So much for brotherly sympathy. Leon glanced down at his watch then sighed, catching the teen's attention. "I've got to head out too. I'll make sure to lock the front door on my way out. With any luck I'll be back home around five. Rest up."

Sinking down into his covers as he listened to Leon leave the house, Sora buried his head under the blankets, groaning after he coughed a few more times. Getting sick was no fun. After lying in bed for a while trying to fall back asleep, Sora gave an exasperated sigh and sat up. It was no use; he had woken up and now he was going to have to stay awake for the rest of the day. Wrapping his top comforter around him like a cape as he slid out of bed, he shuffled over to the window. No sign of Leon's car or Cloud's motorcycle. They really had left him alone.

Pouting, Sora shuffled across the room, glancing once in the mirror before continuing on his way to the stairs. There was no reason to look good when he was all by himself. Besides, it wasn't like his hair needed much brushing anyway, it always naturally fell back into its unruly spikes. Walking down the stairs, he sniffed pathetically, wondering how sick he could make himself sound.

He was pulled from his attempt at self-pity as he heard a small tinkling sound, looking up to see the old chandelier that had been left in the hall swaying slightly side to side from the ceiling. Frowning, Sora lifted his arm up to feel for a breeze, letting out a quiet murmur as he felt a slight chill. "Great…a new draft in the house…" It wasn't so surprising really, it was an old house. Cloud and Leon had warned him they would probably have a few things to fix so Sora ignored the breeze and walked down the few final steps.

Trudging into the parlor that had been transformed into their new media room, Sora dropped down onto the couch, sniffling as he grabbed the remote. He flipped through a few channels, finally stopping when he reached the cartoons. Being sick was a god enough excuse to watch them.

He had been lounging for about an hour when he heard a strange noise from outside the parlor. It sounded almost as if someone was messing around in the kitchen, knocking a few plates together. Confused, Sora sat up, pursing his lips before shaking his head and settling back down onto the couch. His imagination was getting the best of him, Roxas was always saying how he lived in his head too much.

Half an hour later, Sora had just about forgotten about the occurrence when a crash suddenly rang out through the house, the noise mixed with what sounded like a dark chuckle. Sora squeaked and tumbled off of the couch. Pressing his hand against his chest as he stood up, he tried to calm down his heart as he crept over to the doorway to the parlor. It was probably nothing. When they had unpacked things, they had probably just stacked them up badly; a tower of plates had probably just fallen over. And that creepy laugh was probably just from the TV. It was up fairly loud and they did have surround sound.

Peeking around the corner, Sora held his breath, clutching his comforter closer around his neck. He was just about to go investigate when a plate flew out of the kitchen, smashing against the wall of the hallway. Terrified, Sora scrambled for the phone, hurriedly punching in the first number that came to his mind as he curled up on the couch. As the phone rang, Sora smothered a cough. He wasn't going to dare make any loud noises anymore. The phone rang again and Sora shut his eyes tightly, praying that someone would pick up.

"Sergeant Leon Strife."

Gasping happily, Sora fumbled with the phone for a second before pressing it to his ear, his voice a frantic whisper. "Leon!"

"Sora?" Sora cringed despite his fear, he could hear the frown in Leon's voice, "What are you doing calling my work phone? I left the cell phone numbers for a reason."

"L-Leon, I'm sorry but I think someone's in the house!"

There was a pause before Leon spoke up again. "Sora…it's an old house. It makes noises. I'm sure it's just your imagination making the things seem worse than they really are." Sora bit his lip. Leon knew him too well. Sucking in a shaky breath, he was about to apologize for calling when another crash rang from the kitchen, the sound of shattered plates apparently reaching Leon's ear because his adopted father's voice turned irritated. "Sora, what the hell are you doing?"

"That wasn't me."

"What?"

Sora pulled his legs to his chest, whispering into the phone. "I'm in the TV room. The noise came from the kitchen and I might have also heard sort of a laugh. I went to look and I saw a dish fly out of the kitchen." He laughed brokenly, "I was kind of hoping you would tell me I'm hallucinating?"

Sora had almost feared that the phone had gone dead when Leon's voice came back again, this time tense and clipped. "Sora, you're in the parlor?"

"Yes."

"Get out of the house right now."

"W-What?"

"Stand up, right now, and leave through the front door. Don't bother locking it. Go straight to the neighbor's house. Do you understand me?"

Sora nodded then realized that Leon couldn't see him. "Okay. I'm going out. I'll call you back if something happens."

"Wait, Sor-"

Sora hung up. He knew Leon would be mad, but he wanted all of his concentration for this. Plus, if he kept talking, whoever else was in the house would be sure to hear him. Wiping some sweat from his forehead, Sora peeked out of the parlor again into the entrance hall. It was empty. Taking a chance, he darted out for the front door. Crouching in front of the door, Sora carefully turned the lock, cringing as it let out a little screech He had forgotten how loud it was. With a new wave of trepidation, he grabbed the handle and twisted it carefully, holding his breath as he slowly pulled the door open.

Glancing back to where the kitchen was, Sora swallowed. He knew he was almost out, but for some reason it still felt like something was watching him escape. Turning back toward the door, he was about to take a step forward when something suddenly shoved him in the back. He shrieked with surprise as he was thrown outside, tumbling once over the porch before rolling into a sitting position. Barely a second later, the chandelier crashed down, landing in the exact spot he had been just standing. Paling, Sora put a hand to his mouth, backing away from the front door. If he hadn't been pushed just then, he could have been seriously hurt. And it certainly felt like he had been pushed, he had felt two individual hands on his back for a split second. He felt a breeze play across his back, as if tugging him away from the house. Without a second thought, he obeyed the invisible command, sprinting toward the nearest house.

When he reached the house next-door, he paused at the front door, his fist hesitating over the wood. Biting his lip, he slowly pulled away; he didn't know what to tell the neighbor. Plus, he wasn't exactly dressed for meeting someone for the first time. Coughing into his hand, Sora leaned against the porch post, sliding down until he was sitting on the front step. It would be better if he didn't go inside the neighbor's house, if he sat outside he would be able to see if anyone came out.

Sora didn't have to wait long. A few minutes later, the sound of sirens filled the normally quiet neighborhood, a police car speeding into the court and pulling into the driveway of his house. Sora ran over to the car as Leon jumped out from the driver's side, his gun drawn as he ran inside. Yuffie popped out from the other side, her gun drawn as well, the short-haired officer giving Sora a quick grin, "Hey Sor-Sor, stay out here, okay?"

Sora nodded, waiting anxiously by the door as Leon and Yuffie searched the house. He could see flashes of them through windows as they checked all the rooms, their guns cautiously held out in front of them. It took a good ten minutes for Leon to come back outside but when he did, Sora threw himself at the older brown-haired man, collapsing into his arms. Leon held Sora tight, running his hands through the teen's hair. "It's okay, Sora. You're okay…"

"D-Did you find anyone?"

"No, but the kitchen's a mess." Crouching down so that they were eye to eye, Leon rubbed Sora's arms. "I'm going to have Yuffie stay here with you while I go get some case files from the station, okay?"

"You're going to come home?"

Leon nodded, "I'll call Cloud on the way back, tell him what happened. I'll only be gone for a few minutes but while I'm gone, make sure to stay within eyesight of Yuffie, do you understand?" Sora nodded obediently. Sighing, Leon pulled Sora's head against his chest, "I think I managed to take ten years off my life with that scare you gave me…"

"Sorry."

"It's not your fault." Leon pulled himself together, patting Sora on the shoulder. "Now, get back in the house and keep close to Yuffie."

Nodding again, Sora went back into the house, stepping around shards of the broken chandelier as he walked inside. Yuffie was further down the hall, hands on her hips as she surveyed the damage in the kitchen. When she saw Sora, she smiled, her bright attitude lifting Sora's a bit as well. "Whoever this guy was, he sure liked to break things! I don't even know how they managed to get the chandelier down, but you'd better not step in any broken glass. Leon would kill me if you got a piece lodged in your foot!"

Sora took an obliging step away from the glass, looking down at it all the while. He wasn't sure what to make of it either, and he had been there. It was like it had fallen all by itself, but…not at the same time. And he was still confused about who had pushed him out of harm's way. Scratching the back of his head, he smiled sheepishly out into the open space and whispered, "Thanks, someone…"

Right after the words had fallen from his lips, he saw something flicker across the corner of his vision. He turned sharply but found himself looking at an empty wall.

"Everything okay, Sor-Sor?"

Sora paused then shook his head and turned back to the young police officer. "Ya, I'm fine. Just, in shock maybe?"

"Understandable. Now come on! Let's play video games while we're waiting for old grumpy-face to get back. I've totally been practicing during my breaks at the station."

"Right, okay!" Sora shook his head again before following Yuffie back into the media room, trying to clear his head. He wasn't certain, but the thing he had seen out of the corner of his eye had almost looked like the figure of a teenage boy about his age. But that wasn't possible, right?


	4. Chapter 3: Renovations and Revelations

Once again, skip down if you want to skip the reviews!

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Smiley Smackdown: Yeah, Sora's a little dense, but that's why we all love him so much. ;

Jynxer120: Heh, thanks! I haven't had much practice in the art of horror, but I always have fun with it.

neko262012: Awesome. I love to hear you got so into the story. I'd love to tell you if it's a multiple haunting or not, but, that would give away the plot…So, much to my dismay, I'll just have to let you find out as you read. ;)

nazgurl: Thanks for the review! And don't worry, I don't yet have any plans of abandonment.

Icelus: Yup, Sora's one lucky kid! And thanks for the compliment, it was very much appreciated!

Cho-Serake: Dude, thanks for the awesome review! And you should keep looking around at different stories, there are so many that I consider better. Not to say you shouldn't keep reading mine. By all means, continue reading and reviewing!

DramaQueen1193: Glad you think so!

Tysonkaiexperiment: Hmm, maybe Riku just didn't like the patterns on the plates and was "encouraging" them to buy new ones? And murder/mystery is pretty cool, and fun to write!

earth2water1element: Heh, I've never been directly thanked for writing before, but thanks! And as for Sora and Riku meeting face to face, well, hopefully it will be all you expected. :)

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May 10, 2007

Things were finally starting to settle down after Sora's frightening encounter with whoever had been in the house. Roxas had thrown a fit when he got home after school when he had learned what happened, the thought of someone trying to hurt his big brother sending him into a rage that had lasted all night. He had demanded that Leon go to the hardware store and buy all new locks and deadbolts for the doors and hadn't been satisfied until he had tested each one. When he had finally been allowed off from work, Cloud had sped home, just as concerned and as angry as Leon by the fact that he hadn't been at home at the time.

But now it was the weekend and things were beginning to go back to normal. Sora's cold had blown over the day after he had woken up sick with it, leaving as if it had never been there in the first place. Cloud had declared him healthy and Sora had been sent back to school where had been loaded down with homework from all of his classes. It was amazing how much teachers could assign in the span of one day. Much to Sora's relief, he hadn't heard anything strange since that morning and had already started to push the events of that day into the back of his mind.

When he had gone to the hardware store for new locks, Leon had also picked up a few things they would need for fixing up the house, namely multiple buckets of paint, so they had been working on that for the past day and a half. The entrance hall was now a bright cream color, the smell of fresh paint still incredibly strong but it was better than having to stare at the old, dirty wallpaper. A few cracks in the other walls had been sealed up and painted over as well.

Flopping back onto his brother's bed, Sora heaved a loud sigh of exhaustion, his arms lying uselessly at his sides as he watched Roxas organize his closet. The blond had always kept his room clean and everything in his place, whereas in Sora's room you would be lucky if you could find anything in less than five minutes. Seeing that Roxas hadn't acknowledged his sigh, Sora frowned. "Roxas…" he was whining but he didn't really care, "My arms hurt from painting so much…" Roxas still said nothing and Sora rolled onto his stomach. "I said I was sorry for getting paint on your hoodie. I'll wash it out, I swear."

Roxas huffed, still not facing him as he finally spoke, "Ya, you better. And why are you whining to me? I had to paint just as long as you."

"But you didn't have to stand on the chair and reach all the way up to the ceiling!"

"Whimp."

Sora snorted and sat up, wrapping his arms around his legs. "So, what are we going to do with the rest of our weekend?"

"You mean the few hours we have before sunset?" Sora nodded and Roxas shrugged. "I don't know, do homework? I never got any done because of the two slave drivers in the house."

"I heard that."

Both Sora and Roxas turned to the door to see Leon leaning against the frame, his arms crossed. Roxas chuckled almost nervously, quickly going back to hanging up one of his black jackets, "H-Hey Leon! What's up?"

"I need Sora, we're painting his room now."

Groaning, Sora rolled off of the bed, "But Leon…can't you and Cloud just do it?"

Leon tilted his head to the side and he tapped his chin. "Hmm…I don't quite remember which color you picked out for your room. We still have a bit of the white left over from the kitchen. That will probably do…"

Sora's nose wrinkled at the thought of having to stare at white walls every time he went into his room. It was not a pleasant thought. Shaking his head, Sora sighed, "Alright. You win…but, Roxas is going to help too, right? You know, to make the whole process faster?"

"Roxas apparently has homework he forgot to tell us about. So he'll be working on that, won't you, Roxas?"

"Apparently."

It wasn't much of an answer but Leon accepted it started walking down the hallway, Sora trailing after him. Cloud had already moved all of Sora's furniture into the middle of the room by the time they got there. Luckily, the teen hadn't unpacked much yet, so most of the still-filled boxes had just been pushed out into the hallway. Scooting around a few of them to get into the door, Sora sighed at the all too familiar sight of a paint bucket and brushes. Cloud caught the depressed expression and smiled dryly, "Don't worry Sora, this is the last room we're doing for the weekend. The rest we'll save for next week."

"That's good, I guess. Though I think Roxas might go crazy if you keep him from the skate park for another weekend in a row."

Cloud chuckled, then made Sora shout with surprise as he threw the paint-spattered tarp at him. "Probably. Now, set this up on the floor while we get the paint ready. This is nice hardwood, we wouldn't want to get paint all over it."

Sora grinned to himself at the comment. He didn't know why they were still worried about paint hitting the floor. After all, it had hit everything else. Luckily he was still wearing the clothes he had worked in earlier; his outfit matching Cloud and Leon's with the amount of paint spattered on it.

Heaving the tarp up into his arms, Sora dragged it over into a corner of the room and started unrolling it, a frown touching his lips as it suddenly caught a few feet down on a protruding nail. Grumbling, Sora crawled over to the trouble spot and tugged the tarp free. As it lifted up though, Sora was surprised to see a glint from between the floor boards. He leaned down for a closer inspection and saw that something was indeed caught between the two planks of wood. Something shiny. Not one to pass up anything shiny, Sora lifted his head and called out to the other two in the room. "Hey, there's something in the floor here!"

The sound of boots approached Sora's right so he wasn't surprised when he felt someone crouch down next to him, Cloud's voice in his ear, "What? Did you drop something already?"

"It's not mine! It must have been forgotten by the previous owner. Can you get it out?"

"Sora, I don't even see what you're looking at."

Sora sat up with a small pout, "That's because you're not looking at it from the right angle." He grabbed Cloud's arm and tugged him over to where he was sitting, "See it now? It's between those two floorboards."

"Hm. I see it. It looks like it's wedged in their pretty good though. Unless you want to tear up the floorboards, I don't think you're going to see what it is for a while…" Cloud frowned at Sora's expectant expression. "No. Sora, we're not tearing up any floors this afternoon. Especially not in your bedroom. We don't have anything to replace it with."

Ignoring Cloud's logic, Sora pressed his hands together. "Please, Cloud? It could be something really cool! Like, a…a pirate medallion, or a knife used to kill someone in an old bank heist!"

"Or a paperclip."

"Maybe. But wouldn't it be cool just to see? It's like a little treasure hunt, only in our floors! You know you're curious!" Sora grinned, dragging out the last word as Cloud rolled his eyes.

"What's Sora going on about?"

Cloud glanced up from his sitting position as Leon came up behind them. "Sora wants to rip open the floor so he can find out what a little piece of metal is."

Raising an eyebrow, Leon leaned over their heads to take a look. Seeing the intense amount of disinterest in the man's face, Sora quickly took drastic measures and grabbed onto Leon's leg, "Please? I need to know what it is! I won't be able to think about anything else until I know!"

Leon sighed, pinching the bridge of his nose as he gave his leg one discrete shake to try and throw the teen off. Cloud chuckled at his husband's futile attempt. "Face it Leon. I don't think he's going to let us rest until he gets his way."

"Alright, fine. Sora, if you go get the crowbar from the garage and pry open the floor yourself, you can see what it is. And if you splinter any of the wood, the replacement fee is coming out of your allowance."

There was a grin on Sora's face as he ran out of the bedroom. Cloud tilted his head back to look up at Leon. "You're really going to let him attack the floors with a crowbar?"

"Why not? It's his room. If he's willing to live with a few pieces of his floor banged up and possibly broken then I don't have a problem with it. Plus, I really doubt that he was going to shut up about it anytime soon if we said no…"

"Hm, I guess you're right."

Leon smiled at this and leaned down, his lips about to touch Cloud's when Sora bust back into the room, completely missing their more intimate position. "Why did we adopt again?" Leon growled, just loud enough for Cloud to hear him as they watched Sora take a good strategic look at the original, 19th century floor. Quietly snorting back a laugh, Cloud stood up and dusted himself off, leaning over to rest his shoulder against Leon's. Leon finally rolled his eyes after they had watched Sora circle the two pieces of wood for the third time. "Start at the edges and gently lever them up."

"Oh, right. I knew that." Sora crouched down and stuck the crowbar in between the two boards. Leon winced as he heard a small splintering noise but kept quiet as Sora carefully moved the crowbar. The nails gave rusty shrieks as they were pulled out of the wood, the floor board coming loose surprisingly easy after Sora had pulled out both sides. Lifting the board out of its place, Sora reached down into the space it had created, his hand lost in the shadows for a moment before he laughed triumphantly. "Ha! I've got it. It's stuck on a splinter of wood, feels like a…chain link?" His expression became one of concentration as he fumbled around. "…Ow...Stupid wood. Wait, I've got it. Wow, it's heavier than I thought."

After a few moments, he finally drew his hand back out to examine the prize he had caught. A silver necklace hung from his fingers. The chain links were bit big and a little tarnished but the crown charm at the end looked as bright as ever, shining under the glow of the electric lighting. Sora's eyes were wide, Cloud and Leon wearing more subtle expressions of surprise as the teen held the necklace up. "It's a necklace. Can I keep it?"

Leon shrugged, always the one to answer questions of legality. "I don't see why not. It looks pretty old. I bet it's been here for a long time."

Grinning, Sora slipped it around his neck, turning to see what it looked like in the mirror. When he caught sight of his reflection, he tilted his head to the side, reaching up to touch the small crown. "I wonder who it belonged to…?"

"Whoever lived in this room, I imagine. The house has apparently changed hands a few times, it'd probably be fairly hard to track down whoever it belonged to."

"Then I say it's mine!" Turning away from the mirror, Sora pumped a fist into the air, "Finders-keepers wins again!"

"Good for you. Now, put the board back and get ready to paint."

Sora's good mood faltered a bit at the thought of work, but he sighed and obeyed the order. After all, it wasn't every day Leon would let him pry open the floor.

By the time night rolled around, Leon and Cloud had finally called the renovations on the house done for the weekend. Roxas had finished his homework and they had even managed to throw together a decent family dinner. Now Sora was up in his room, getting ready for bed. Leon and Cloud had a rule; Sora and Roxas could stay up as late as they wanted, so long as they went to bed before Cloud and Leon, which basically meant an eleven o'clock curfew seeing how both men had work in the morning.

Changing into his pajamas, Sora glanced down at the necklace then smiled, deciding to keep it on for the night. He had found it all on his own after all; he was going to wear it everywhere he went. Well, maybe not in the shower, because the silver would rust. He had already taken care of the bathroom necessities so once he was changed Sora climbed into bed, wiggling down into the sheets before drifting off to sleep.

"Hmph. Yellow certainly is not a color I would have chosen for the walls…"

Sora scrunched his eyes closed as a voice hit his sleepy ears, his legs curling up as he tried hard to stay asleep. It was an odd voice, sounding almost like an echo, maybe close to what a voice was sound like if it was coming from under the water. Whatever it was, it was keeping Sora from his rest.

"But then again, I have very little say over what goes on here these days, don't I?"

Stupid voice, go away.

A sigh hit Sora's ears and one of his eyes fluttered open, in his half-conscious state he wasn't all that ruffled to see a transparent boy lounging on his window seat. He always had been a heavy sleeper. More irritated than frightened, Sora lifted his head, his voice sluggish. "Um…could you talk to yourself somewhere else…? I'm tryin' to sleep…"

The boy, actually more like, the older teenager, was visibly startled, his head jerking around to face the bed. Sora stared back at the white eyes, blinking sleepily as the teen carefully stood up and moved toward the door, the other's posture stiffening as Sora followed him with his eyes the entire time. He opened his mouth once, shut it, then tried again. "Can…can you hear me?"

"You're pretty loud, hard not to." Pushing himself against his pillows to get into a sitting position, Sora rubbed his eyes, yawning as he woke up a little more. "Now could you--wait, how did you get in my room?"

The other teen remained silent, as if he wasn't quite sure how to handle the unexpected situation and Sora took the time to get a closer look at him. The teen was tall, his hair long and floating around his shoulders, his clothes were in some old style and his feet…well, Sora couldn't see his feet, the teen's body sort of blurred out around the legs. The gears in his head slowly clicking into place. "Wait, what are you? What are you doing in my roo-mph!" His rising voice was muffled as the ghostly teen had suddenly rushed forward and pressed a hand to his mouth to keep him from waking up the entire house. The hand was freezing but something about it seemed familiar. Sora gasped, rolling to the side as he whispered harshly, "You're the person…thing…whatever, that pushed me out of the house!"

"You memorized what my hands felt like?" The other teen looked and sounded incredulous, his moonlight-white brows furrowing.

"I was scared! It was traumatizing! People remember a lot of details when they're traumatized!" Sora's eyes narrowed and he pointed accusingly at the boy while grabbing a pillow to his chest with his other hand, "Now get out of my room! What are you doing here anyway?"

The other teen frowned, putting his hands on his hips. "Excuse me? This is my room! I have more of a right to be inside it than anyone else, including you." His eyes narrowed further when his eyes fell down to the silver around Sora's neck. "And that is my necklace. Return it to me this instant!"

Sora scowled but for some reason pulled the necklace off of his neck before dropping it for the teen to catch in his outstretched palm. Two things happened in that second. As soon as Sora had let the necklace fall from his hand, the other's form had faded to nothing but a patch of slightly foggy air. Secondly, the necklace had passed right through where the outstretched hand had just been, clattering noisily to the floor. Sora's eyes widened and he dove for the necklace. As soon as he was touching it again, the teen came back into focus, his expressing an interesting mix of mortification and irritation.

Sora on the other hand, was nothing short of petrified as reality finally hit, the pain of the wooden floor he hit it alerting him to the fact that this was no dream. There was something in his bedroom, and it was not solid. No, in fact, Sora could see his cheery yellow walls right through the other's chest. Swallowing, he scooted back against the wall. The other teen seemed to notice the building panic after a moment and frowned, "What is wrong with you now?" Sora could only let out a small squeak. Sensing a scream coming, the teen swooped down, covering Sora's mouth again. "Please, don't scream. I hate having people scream. Take a deep breath and calm down."

Feeling the cold, slightly clammy skin on his lips again, Sora closed his eyes, his panic still threatening to burst into a shriek of terror as he uttered a quick and desperate, "Not helping! Just, back off!"

Much to Sora's surprise, the stranger obeyed, putting five feet between them and holding up his hands, his odd voice hesitant. "Here, is this better?"

Sora nodded, clutching onto the necklace tightly as he tried to calm his erratic heartbeat. Finally, he felt calm enough to be able to put a decent sentence together. "What, what are you doing here?"

"I'm always here." The transparent boy made to sit down on Sora's bed, stopping as Sora let out an uncontrollable squeak of displeasure. Sighing, the other teen ran a hand through his hair. "Look, this is a new situation for me as well! Believe what you wish, but it is quite possibly a stranger circumstance for me."

Sora frowned, crawling possessively up onto his bed before he curled up against the headboard, a pillow clutched to his chest again. "Ya, I don't think so."

The teen sighed again, the noise sounding strange and inhuman, more like a small gust of wind. "We obviously both started this meeting on the wrong foot. We're both confused, so, apparently, being the more logical one, I'm going to suggest we start over with a proper introduction." Sora paused then nodded hesitantly, making the other boy smirk a little. A moment later, the teen stuck out his hand, "Very well. My name is Riku, it is a pleasure to meet you."

"Sora Strife…and I really don't want to shake your hand. Sorry." He added the last bit as Riku dropped his arm, raising an eyebrow at Sora's rejection. "I mean, it's just that-"

"I'm a ghost?" Sora nodded quickly and Riku frowned, looking away, his voice becoming a bit sharper, "I thought so…I suppose I should be used to that sort of reaction."

Sora watched Riku hover in the air murmuring to himself. The feel of this encounter was completely different than when Sora had been sick. There was no sense of terror or danger hovering in the air. Sora wasn't filled with a desperate need to escape. It was relatively much more pleasant. The temperature in the room had dropped but the feeling was more sad than anything else, almost lonely. Riku didn't look all that much older than Sora himself, and Sora found himself wondering how long he had been in the house.

Grasping his sheets tightly to gather his courage, Sora asked shakily, "R-Riku, how old were you, when you, when you died?"

Riku shot him a look, his eyebrows narrowing, "Why would you want to know?"

"I thought we were introducing ourselves?"

Riku rolled his eyes at Sora's smug expression, his wavering voice sounding almost amused. "You certainly change moods quickly. Weren't you terrified of me a moment ago?"

"Are you trying to avoid my question?"

Riku glared but Sora didn't back down, his courage growing as he saw that Riku was acting similar to how any living teenager would. Another teenager was something he could deal with, better than ghosts anyway. "Do you really want to know?" Riku asked. Sora nodded and Riku sighed. "Truthfully? I have no idea." Sora's face fell as Riku continued. "I have no recollection of anything about myself other then the fact that my name is Riku, this is my room, and that is my necklace. And that last one came to me only when I saw it around your neck. It feels like I have been wandering about this house for so long, without knowing anything." Running a hand down his face, Riku glanced over at Sora as he heard a yawn. "And it is the middle of the night, isn't it?" Sora nodded and Riku shook his head, "No wonder you're acting like an idiot, you must be exhausted." Sora nodded again and slid back under his blankets. "And while that wasn't an invitation for you to go back to sleep, I guess you can if you want."

Smothering another yawn, Sora glanced over at Riku, "You're going to show up tomorrow though, right? We can talk more if you want."

"Of course I'll be here. This is my room."


	5. Chapter 4: Seeing is Believing?

Wow, you guys all totally rock. I reached 1,000 hits with Chapter 4! It blows my mind just thinking that so many people are clicking on the story. Of course, it could just be ten people 100 times each, but that'd be cool too. And to all who review; thank you, you make my day all that much better.

Jynxer120: Every once and a while I try for a little bit of humor. ;) Glad to see you appreciated it!

DramaQueen1193: Yep, they meet! Huzzah! Plot advancement:D

ZSAngel: Hey, thanks a lot! And I know what you mean about ghost stories, they're always really fun for me to read too. Thank you for the compliment about the writing, it was much appreciated.

Kira Sakura: Dude, 24 minutes?! Well, heck, thanks for bothering to review then! I would have thrown the bloody computer out a window if it took that long, but then again, I have the attention span of an infant. Poor Riku is right, but I bet Sora will try his best to make him happy!

Kanpa: What are you talking about, you totally reviewed! Thanks!

Satsukifujin: I know! Took long enough though, didn't it? ;) And I swear, Axel is coming too, just trust me, I haven't forgotten him!

Water Jewel Emi: Thanks! I'll try my best to keep it going at a steady pace of updation!

Smiley Smackdown: Hm…that does sound like something Sora would do…he's kinda dense like that.

PirataNoctis: Euge! An even 30, makes everything good.

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May 11, 2007

As soon as he woke up, Sora scrambled out of bed, hitting the floor with a dull thump before he picked himself up and ran out of his room.

Roxas let out a groggy shout of surprise as the door to his room slammed open, snapping up into a sitting position to see that it was only Sora at his door. His blue eyes narrowed behind blond spikes mussed from sleep. "What the hell are you trying to do Sora? Give me a heart att-ACK!" He yelped as Sora leapt onto his bed. "What the hell are you doing?"

"Guess what happened last night!" Sora exclaimed, grinning despite the murderous glare Roxas was sending him.

Not one to humor someone at six in the morning, Roxas curled back up under his sheets and swatted Sora's hand as his brother moved in to shake his shoulder. "No. Get out of my room, Sora."

Sora frowned as Roxas shut his eyes tightly and tugged on the sheets beseechingly. "But Roxas. It's really important!"

A blue eye cracked open, "Really important?"

Sora nodded.

"You swear?"

Sora nodded again and Roxas let out a long sigh, propping his chin up onto his hand as he sat up a little. "Okay, what is it?"

"There was a ghost in my room last night!"

Roxas blinked once, letting the statement soak in before he groaned and attempted to bury his face under his pillow. "You've got to be kidding me…"

"But Roxas-"

"Sora, remember when you thought someone had broken into the apartment? It was just Cloud and Leon making out and tripping over things in the family room. Then there was the time you thought there was something in the closet. It was just a trapped moth. The shadows on the ceiling were made by the car headlights. Basically, I can pretty much guarantee that there is no ghost in your bedroom."

Sora shook his head, "But this is different than all those other times! There really was a ghost in my room. His name is Riku and he talked to me! I could see right through him the entire time! He was wearing these old fashioned clothes and said that the room was his. He said this necklace was his too…" His voice trailed off as he saw Roxas's expression. "You don't believe me, do you?"

Shrugging, Roxas rolled onto his back so that he was facing Sora. "Truthfully? Not really. I mean, come on. You were probably just sleeping. Think about it. There's not really any such thing as ghosts."

"Fine. I'll just go tell Cloud and Leon then. They'll believe me."

Sora made to get off of Roxas's bed but Roxas snatched Sora's sleeve, stopping him in his tracks. "Are you stupid? You can't tell them. They'll put you on meds or something, or make you go see a shrink." The blond sighed then ran a hand through his hair to try and comb it out some. "Look, my school gets out five minutes before yours. I'll walk over to the high school and then we can head over to the library where I'll prove to you that there was no Riku ever in this house."

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The city's library was a huge building, built when the Neo-Classical style had been popular. Marching purposefully past the white marble columns to the main door, Roxas dragged Sora along behind him, completely ignoring the building's aesthetic value. The entire walk there, Sora had been going on about this Riku person and Roxas was more than ready to shut his big brother up. He was just relieved that Leon and Cloud had given them permission to go to the library, he wasn't sure if they had bought his excuse that he needed to research something for a school report, but they still allowed the trip and that was what mattered. Once inside the library, Roxas immediately spotted the front desk and walked over, slapping his hands down on the counter and startling the elderly woman behind it away from her reading.

The woman peered down at him from behind her thick glasses, her expression sour at the fact that she had been startled by a short blond boy who could barely reach over the counter. "Young man, is there something I can help you with?"

"Ya, where do you keep the old town records?"

"The archives are in the basement. What date are you looking for?"

"I have no idea."

The woman sighed, obviously a little irritated by Roxas's attitude. "Well, if you go downstairs, there should be someone at the desk. They should be able to help you with whatever you need."

Roxas nodded and headed to the stairs, Sora following curiously behind him, just as interested to see if they would find anything, but for a different reason. He knew Riku was real, now he just wanted to find out more about him.

When they got down into the basement, they were both shocked to find a giant behind the help desk. Or at least, a man who was nearly as tall as one. Bravely edging his way over, Roxas got close enough to see that the man looked to be busy reading a novel, the book dwarfed in his large hands. Apparently the entire library staff liked to read on the job, but then again, that was probably why they took the job in the first place. Clearing his throat a little, Roxas spoke up after a moment of hesitation. "Um, hi…?" The man glanced up, almost looking surprised to see that someone had come down into the basement. "Erm, the lady upstairs said that you could help us with the town archives?"

The man grunted. "Which year?"

"See, that's the thing. We're not quite sure, we're looking for a person, not a year."

The man frowned thoughtfully then marked the page he was at, set the book down onto the desk, and stood up. Roxas glanced back at Sora as the man wordlessly walked off, silently asking what to do. Sora just shrugged and so they carefully followed him through the rows of shelves. The man led them to a large set of file cabinets, shuffling through them before pulling out a large sheaf of what looked to be copies of old newspapers. He carried them over to a large table, laying them out and motioning for the boys to sit down. They obeyed, Roxas scanning over the stack with growing trepidation, it would take forever to go through them all. Still, he owed the man for getting them out. "Thanks, um…"

"Lexaeus."

"Lexaeus, right. Thanks Lexaeus. We're probably going to be here for a while if it matters."

Lexaeus nodded before walking back to the help desk, undoubtedly picking up his book as soon as he got there. Leaning over the piles of photocopied newspaper pages, Roxas glanced over at Sora as he picked up a small bunch for himself. "Well? Start looking. We're not leaving until it gets through your thick head that your person never existed in this town."

Sora frowned but picked up a chunk of the pile. Riku had to be mentioned somewhere.

Two hours had passed and Sora was starting to get annoyed. There was no mention of Riku anywhere! His fingertips were smudged black from running over so many articles about every conceivable subject but none of them had named his ghostly acquaintance. Pouting, Sora glanced over at Roxas. The younger teen had seemed to have grown more and more smug as the time passed, no doubt sure of the fact that they would find absolutely nothing. He was now lounging in his chair, his feet up on the table as he leaned back. Lexaeus had walked by their table a few times during their stay, returning the papers that they had read back into the filing cabinet and bringing out new ones. As he bent down to collect a newly formed stack, Sora let out a moan of exasperation, rubbing his eyes with the palms of his hands. "Riku's not in any of these articles! It's not fair!"

Lexaeus's eyes seemed to brighten at the name and he walked back to the file cabinet, coming back a moment later with a single piece of paper in his hands. "Here," he said, setting the sheet in front of Sora, "July 22, 1882."

Roxas jumped, nearly tripping over his own legs as he sat up. "Wait, what?"

Bouncing in his seat from excitement, Sora stood up and smoothed the paper down onto the table so that Roxas could read upside-down. "Look, Roxas, it's him! 'Riku Miyano, son of the notable lawyer Sephiroth Miyano, was…killed yesterday in his home by the escaped convict, Ansem'…" Sora's voice trailed off and he swallowed, his eyes drifting to the small black and white picture that went with the article. It was blocky from the copying process but Sora could still clearly make out the features. His blood ran cold as he continued to silently read the article. 'By Mr. Miyano's account, the convict entered the house in the middle of the day and sought him out in his office. It was only through a terrible twist of fate that Riku had been the victim instead. Ansem was driven to find the Miyano residence due to the fact that it was Sephiroth who put together the case that sentenced him to life in prison…' The paper went on to describe the atrocities that Ansem had committed before he had been caught by the police. It only skimmed over describing Riku's murder though, in fact after the initial paragraph, it barely mentioned him again except to say that he was 'an exceptional young man whose bright future had been tragically taken away from him.'

Roxas snatched the paper out of Sora's hands as Sora had apparently gone into some sort of shock, his blue eyes quickly scanning the page, face paling as even the address of the house matched. "I don't believe it," he muttered, "This, this is just…stupid. There's just no way…" Letting out a quiet growl of frustration, Roxas threw the paper to the side, and crossed his arms defiantly. "Sora, you must have heard the story from somewhere else and just dreamed about it."

Not listening to his brother, Sora turned to Lexaeus instead, the need to know more eating away at him. "Lexaeus, is there anything more on Sephiroth? What happened to him after Riku was killed?"

Lexaeus frowned thoughtfully again then nodded to himself before he opened his mouth, "Wait here. I need to go up to the first floor."

Sora nodded and happily watched the man walk off as Roxas continued to stare at the paper. There was just no way in the blond's mind that Sora could be right and yet here was a piece of evidence stating the contrary, right in his hands. He tried to think logically. So there had been a boy named Riku living in their house. And he had been killed when he was about their age. And Sora had somehow found out all this information before Cloud or Leon, and Leon had even taken to doing background checks of the houses they were looking to buy. Okay, so it was getting hard to think logically.

He was still lost in his own spiraling rationalization when Lexaeus came back a thick, hardcover book tucked under his arm. Sora looked at it curiously as Lexaeus set it down in front of him, it was a book on military history. Tilting his head to the side, he watched as Lexaeus flipped through the pages, the man's face one of concentration as he flipped from chapter to chapter, finally stopping on one and pushing it toward Sora. There were columns of mini-biographies on important military figures on the page, and Sora gasped as he spotted the one titled, 'General Sephiroth Miyano.' Skimming through it, Sora learned that Sephiroth had joined the military in 1883 and had quickly risen to a high-ranking officer. He was known for his ruthless precision and merciless tactics during attacks. Sora frowned as his fingers ran over the words, wondering what had made Sephiroth change so drastically. Guilt maybe? Grief? A mix of the two?

Looking up from the page after a moment of contemplation, Sora smiled weakly at Lexaeus, "Can I get copies of this page and the one about Riku? I need to show this to someone."

Lexaeus nodded, collecting the papers before slipping into a side room that undoubtedly had a copier machine. A few minutes later he came out and handed Sora a bunch of still-warm paper. "I wrote the date of the article on the top. Is that all you need?"

"Ya, thanks!" Grinning, Sora grabbed Roxas by the hood of his jacket, remembering to wave goodbye to Lexaeus as he ran back up the stairs pulling his little brother behind him.

It was already getting dark by the time that Leon picked them up and drove them back home. Sora couldn't stop wiggling in his seat during dinner, too excited about sharing his new information with Riku. He wondered what the ghost's reaction would be. If it was Sora who just learned new things about his past, he knew he'd be ecstatic.

Watching Sora squirm from the other side of the table, Cloud raised a blond eyebrow. "So, you two went to the library after school?"

Roxas nodded as he stuffed a piece of chicken into his mouth, "Yep."

"I didn't even know schools still required kids to go to the library anymore. I thought everything was on-line."

Shrugging, Roxas swallowed then spoke up again. "My teacher's a little old fashioned. Luckily I think I found everything I needed to, but Sora's going to help me sort through all the papers we got photocopied, right?"

"Hm… sorry, what did you say?" Roxas sighed as Sora blinked out of his thoughts, the older teen clearly having missed out on the past five minutes of conversation.

"I was reminding you that after dinner we have to upstairs to your room so that we can talk about my report. Remember?"

"Report?" Sora quailed a bit under Roxas's glare then nodded fervently, "Oh right, the report. I remember. I was going to…help you with that?"

Resisting the urge to slap himself in the forehead, Roxas instead turned to Leon and Cloud. "Dinner was great but can we be excused now? There's a lot of work we still have to do and I'm already getting a little tired so we'll probably be going to bed early too. Come on Sora!"

Leon blinked as he watch the two teens run up the stairs, turning to Cloud who was wearing a similar expression of confusion. "What was that all about?"

"I have no idea. Sometimes I think it's better not to know."

Once they were upstairs in Sora's bedroom, Roxas sat down on the bed, Sora taking the desk chair as his younger brother pulled his legs into a cross-legged position. "Alright. So here's my plan. I'm going to prove to you once and for all that there is no ghost, but to do that, I apparently have to stay in here with you to prove you wrong."

Sora only grinned, spinning the chair around in lazy circles, "You're just in denial..."

"I am not! You are just being stupid. I can't believe I'm even doing this!"

"Aren't little brother's supposed to trust what their big brothers say?" Sora asked, pouting a little as Roxas stuck his foot out, catching the chair seat and stopping his circles. "Besides, you're going to be proven wrong anyway, because Riku is coming back tonight. He promised."

"Dreams can't keep promises!"

Sora shrugged, a smile on his lips. "We'll just have to see!"

Roxas's patience barely held as they waited for it to get dark. In fact, after three hours of trying to entertain themselves, his little brother practically looked like he was about to explode. But they had at least gotten all of their homework done during the wait; that way they hadn't been completely lying when they had told Cloud and Leon what they were doing. The sun had been set for nearly two hours when Sora finished the last page of his chemistry chapter and shut the book, turning toward his bed to see that Roxas was flipping aimlessly through a worn copy of the book his English teacher had assigned. Checking the clock, Sora was surprised to see that it was already eleven. He frowned, tapping his fingers on the desk as he murmured worriedly. "Where is he? He said he would be here."

"You're just crazy…" Roxas muttered, glancing up as the ceiling let out a groan from above his head. "Stupid old house. It's falling apart everywhere."

The ceiling creaked again and Sora tilted his head, "You know, it almost sounds like footsteps, don't you think?"

"Ha ha. Hilarious. You're just trying to…freak me...out…" his voice trailed off as the creaking suddenly turned into what sounded like the heavy footfalls from someone walking up in the attic, as if they were wearing boots or something.

Sora bit his lip, unable to keep himself from feeling a little creeped out as the footsteps moved over his head, toward the hatch in the attic that lead down onto the landing right outside his room. Scooting the rolling chair back toward the bed, Sora inched onto the mattress. A few minutes passed. Nothing happened. Smiling sheepishly at his own actions, Sora was about to slide back into the chair when a figure materialized straight through his bedroom door. Sora shrieked, his hand flying to his chest as he was met with a familiar face. "Don't do that Riku! I thought you were something scary! You can't just float through people's doors like that without a little warning first!"

Riku frowned, his expression distant as he nodded toward Roxas who was looking more than a little confused, "Who is this?"

"Oh, this is my brother, Roxas! Roxas, this is Riku! See, I told you I wasn't making him up!"

"This…is Riku?"

Sora turned to his brother at the incredulous tone, surprised to see a lack of emotion on the other's face. Roxas should have been a bit more shocked, it was his first time seeing a ghost after all! "Ya!" Sora grinned, "What's the matter, tongue-tied over finally being proven wrong?"

Riku stood by the doorway, his arms crossed and the frown still on his lips as Roxas sighed. "No, I'm not tongue-tied. I'm just surprised you're still considered sane." At Sora's surprised face, Roxas continued, "Sora, all I see is a bit of fog. You can name it Riku if you want, but it's probably just caused by the house cooling off or something."

Sora tilted his head to the side as his brother rambled on about scientific explanations, tapping his chin thoughtfully before he grinned. Riku's eyes widened and he took a step forward as Sora pulled his necklace off and held it out to Roxas, his low, wavering voice hesitant. "Wait, Sora…"

Ignoring him momentarily, Sora glanced over at Roxas, "Here, grab onto this. It should help you see things better! It worked for me anyway!"

Roxas rolled his eyes but reached out anyway as he finished up his ramble. "Seriously, medication. We're going to have to look into it for you." Riku ran forward, Sora letting out a noise of surprise as the ghost made to swipe the necklace away but Riku was too slow. His white outstretched hand clenched into a first as Roxas's hand made contact with the necklace chain first.

Sora glanced from Riku's wary expression to Roxas, whose blue eyes had suddenly become very wide. The blond's body was completely rigid and Sora frowned worriedly. "Um, Roxas?"

Sora's voice seemed to snap Roxas out of his shock and the younger teen did the only thing he could think of. He screamed.


	6. Chapter 5: To Know a Name

Tysonkaiexperiment: Well, in Riku's defense, he did try…but don't worry, Roxas's retaliation will be swift and violent, that is, if he could figure out a way to come in contact with Riku…

Water Jewel Emi: The last line was my favorite too! Poor Roxas, he's probably so confused.

key46812: Hey, thanks! I try my best!

Smiley Smackdown: I try to update as soon as possible, though somehow I only get into writing spurts right before I have tests…darned procrastination

Jynxer120: Eh heh, Thanks! I might have a little too much fun with suspense sometimes, but it's always so entertaining to write!

Koneko Hoshi: "Something's Upstairs"? Hmm, I've never read that, I'll have to look into it though. Hopefully our story lines won't end up too similar! You'll have to tell me how that story ends!

earth2water1element: No problem! I actually have a lot of fun updating, so it's easy for me to get them out at a decent pace!

Bliss: The first few chapters freaked you out? --; I'm not writing too scary, am I? Or was it something else that freaked you out? Oh well, I'm glad you're enjoying it now! Thanks for reviewing!

Kira Sakura: Whoo! Only nine minutes!…Still too long for my patience, but glad to see it's getting better! Can't really blame Roxas for screaming though, he's only 14 after all. Besides, he'll deny that it ever happened later on. ;)

DramaQueen1193: Ya, poor Roxas, he was proved wrong. As for Leon and Cloud, well, at least they're not hypersensitive to the sound of screaming or anything (was that sarcastic?). ;)

Freaky-Wierd-Chick22: Hey, you called me Dude! Thanks for the review! I love hearing that I'm able to keep up the story's energy, and I'll make sure to keep updating as quickly as I can!

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May 11, 2007

At Roxas's scream, Riku reeled back, covering his ears distastefully as Sora jumped on his brother to quiet him down, the brown-haired teen remembering that Riku had said he hated the noise.

Both he and Roxas let out a surprised shout as Sora's door suddenly burst open, Leon and Cloud tumbling in, Leon holding his gun up and ready to shoot. Seeing that no one was being murdered, Leon lowered his gun cautiously, his body still tensed. "Who screamed?"

Sora rolled off of Roxas and pointed to the blond who was still staring wide-eyed at Riku. Cloud's eyebrows rose, "That was Roxas?" Roxas never screamed. Not at scary movies, not on roller coasters, not ever; he just wasn't a screamer. "What's wrong?"

"Um…" Sora glanced down at Roxas then prodded his shoulder gently. Roxas jumped, his eyes flashing over to his parents. He opened his mouth, his eyes flashing back over to Riku before he frowned. Leon and Cloud couldn't see Riku; that much was obvious. If they had been able to, Riku would have had a bullet in him by now.

Clenching his fists, Roxas grit his teeth then looked back up at Leon and Cloud who were still waiting for an answer. "Sorry…I guess I saw a spider or something. Sorry I made you run in here for nothing."

Cloud tilted his head to the side, "We're not mad Roxas, we were just worried."

Roxas snorted, some of the color coming back to his face as he got over the initial shock. "Ya, I can tell. Next time I'd appreciate it if you put some pants on before you came to save us though." Cloud had the decency to blush a little. He and Leon had clearly been in bed when they had heard the scream. Cloud was only in his boxers and Leon had managed to hap-hazardly throw on a robe. It was questionable if he was wearing anything underneath.

Sighing, Leon ran a hand through his hair, standing up straight as he let the gun hang loose in his hand. "Don't complain. You're lucky we came at all." Roxas made a face as Leon sent a meaningful look over in Cloud's direction. "Now, do you need us to kill the spider or can we go?"

Roxas waved him off. "Don't worry, this is one spider I can take care of myself." He glared hard at Riku but the ghostly teen only rolled his eyes, floating over to the window seat. Folding his arms over his chest, Riku turned to gaze out the window as Cloud and Leon left the room. Roxas growled and as soon as the door had closed, he grabbed a pillow and hurled it at Riku, jumping to his feet as the pillow went straight through the ghost and hit the window instead. Still holding onto the necklace, Sora was dragged along as Roxas marched over to Riku, the young teen's face livid. "What the hell are you doing in my brother's room?" Riku remained silent and Roxas growled, his free hand tightening into a fist, "I asked you a question you freak, so either answer or get out of this room!"

Sora winced as Roxas lashed out at Riku, his hand going straight through the other teen's arm as smoothly as the pillow had. Riku frowned, though he didn't turn to face them as he spoke up. "Will you stop trying to hit me? It's obviously not working."

Roxas shook out his hand. It had gone cold when it had passed through Riku's body, like it had been doused in ice water that had instantly evaporated. Still, he was pissed off, and took another swing before kicking the window seat. When that failed to rattle the ghost, he dropped his side of the necklace, apparently not caring whether or not he could see Riku as he instead plopped down on Sora's bed and crossed his arms moodily, watching Sora protectively.

Biting his lip, Sora stepped a little closer to Riku, frowning a little as the air grew colder the closer he got. Seeing that the ghost was ignoring him too, Sora cleared his throat a little as he fastened the necklace back around his neck, the crown leaving a comfortable weight on his chest. "So, Riku, what're you looking at?"

There was silence for a moment and Sora was almost afraid that Riku wasn't going to answer him at all when that familiar voice reached his ears, its apparent hesitance making it sound more far away than usual. "Those houses…"

Sora frowned curiously and looked over Riku's shoulder, and through him. Through the large window, he could just make out the dark shapes of the rest of the houses in their court in the dim glow of the street light. "What about them?"

Riku sighed and shifted a little, making his hair fall over his shoulders and into his face. "They aren't supposed to be there." Sora made a questioning noise and Riku turned to face him, a small, sad smile on his lips. "When I close my eyes, I see a long road surrounded by tall grass. There are fields farther away, smaller houses, it all just seems… right." His voice grew stronger but more bitter, "And then I open my eyes and I see this, and nothing makes sense anymore."

"Well, that's kind of understandable." Riku turned to look at Sora as the teen spoke up. "I mean, you've been here for over a hundred years, you're probably remembering what it was like way back then!"

"…What did you mean, when you said that I've been here for over one hundred years?"

Sora grinned and ran over to his desk where he had set the article copies. He could feel Riku come up behind him, the chill in the air a dead giveaway. Ignoring the slightly uncomfortable feeling that came with the cold, Sora excitedly flipped through the papers. "Roxas and I wanted to know more about you, so we went to the library to do some research. Well, Roxas went to prove that you didn't exist but that's okay, because he's always cynical like that."

"Hey! I'm still in the room you know."

Sora sent a grin in Roxas's direction as he whipped out the photocopied article and book excerpt. "Anyway, we actually found out some things about you that I thought you would want to see! Like the fact that you lived in the 1882!" He was about to give the papers to Riku then paused, blushing a little with embarrassment as he remembered that Riku wouldn't be able to hold them. Turning, he carefully laid them out on the desk, making sure they were in the right order before stepping away. "Um, there you go. Take as much time as you need to read it!"

Riku frowned but floated over to the desk, leaning over it as he peered down at the pages. Tilting his head, Sora leaned over as well, watching the pale face scrunch up in a sort of desperate concentration. The expression made Riku look especially young, and Sora frowned as he felt a new pang of pity for the other boy. His hand moved up to touch the other's shoulder. Realizing what he was doing, Sora stopped, his hand dropping to his side as he moved over to sit next to Roxas. Sighing as his brother sat down next to him, Roxas reached over, putting his hand on Sora's shoulders, his fingers brushing against the silver chain. Sora felt Roxas stiffen as Riku came back into focus for him, the blond speaking up grudgingly, "It feels better keeping him in sight, and I like hearing his side of the conversation."

"You couldn't hear him?"

"No. All I heard were whispers, it sounded like the frickin' wind or something. What was he saying anyway, you were being pretty friendly with him."

Sora withered a little under Roxas's accusing glare, pressing his fingers together apologetically, "I'm sorry, he's just so normal, you know? It's hard for me to remember he's a ghost sometimes."

"Normal?" Roxas sounded incredulous, his voice cracking with a squeak before lowering back into a harsh whisper, "Sora, nothing about this is normal! Do you even understand the position you're in? This creep can come into your room whenever he wants, he can just sneak in and catch you changing if he wanted!"

"Riku wouldn't do that." Sora squeaked as Roxas's grip tightened around the back of his neck, his younger brother shaking him violently.

"That's exactly what I mean, stop being so naïve!"

Gasping a little from the chokehold, Sora tried to get a sentence out. "You're, you're just too suspicious of everyone! Someone has to give people the benefit of the doubt."

Roxas rolled his eyes, releasing Sora's neck to bury his face in his hands, "I give up, you're impossible to train."

Sora stuck his tongue out at Roxas then glanced over at Riku to see how he was doing. His playful feelings died when he saw that Riku's eyes had gone wide, a graceful hand pressed against closed lips. Frowning worriedly, Sora leaned forward, "Riku? You okay?" Riku started as if he had been shocked, jerking around to face Sora. "Did, did it help you remember anything?"

"I remember," Riku's hand drifted down to press against his chest, "I remember pain, and I remember the name Sephiroth. He was, he was my father. And Ansem, he was downstairs, he had a gun. Ansem killed me?" Riku shook his head, digging his fingers into his hair. "Why can't I remember anything else though?" His white eyes met Sora's blue, "I know nothing. I know absolutely nothing about who I was, or even what I am!"

Sora frowned, sliding off the bed, "Riku…I just wanted to make you happier-"

"Happier?" Riku dropped his hands to his sides, his voice rising until it seemed to fill the whole room, "I was happy not knowing!" Sora jumped as the objects on his desk and shelves began to rattle. "How can I be happy knowing I'm dead?" If it wasn't for Riku's tangible anger, Sora would have thought it was an earthquake. He let out a shout as a picture of him and Roxas flew off his desk, missing his face by barely an inch before shattering against the wall. The shattering sound seemed to wake Riku from his rage because he suddenly stopped, their expressions of shock mirroring each other before Riku turned and ran, disappearing through the closest wall.

Sora didn't realize that he was shaking until he felt Roxas's steady hand on his arm. "I, I thought he'd be happy…"

Roxas frowned, squeezing Sora's arm comfortingly. "Hey, just forget about it. With any luck, he won't be showing up again."

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May 16, 2007

Nearly a week had passed since Riku had learned about his death, and Sora had seen nothing of the ghostly teenager. He was torn as to whether to think that it was a good thing or not. Mostly, he was feeling guilty about ever having shown Riku the articles in the first place. Maybe it hadn't been his place to tell Riku what had happened, he didn't know how that worked with ghosts. Sighing, he pulled his night shirt over his head and crawled into bed. Maybe, if he got the chance, he would apologize to Riku.

Roxas had been enjoying the few supernatural-free days, spending almost his entire time after school at the skate park with Hayner, Pence, and Olette. Sora liked Roxas's friends. Pence and Olette kept him out of trouble anyway, Hayner only encouraged his troublemaking, but they were all good kids. For his part though, Sora had found himself growing more distant from his friends. There was Kairi, he had known her since junior high and they were best friends. She was basically the only one he ever talked to anymore. He wasn't trying to be anti-social; on the contrary he was thought of as one of the popular kinds in school, but lately his mind had been stuck on his house's long-time resident. He had even kept the silver crown necklace around his neck on the off chance that Riku did come back. He wanted to be able to communicate with the ghost and so far, wearing the necklace was the only way he knew of for him to be able to interact with Riku.

Sora hadn't realized that he had fallen asleep until he felt something prodding him awake. Blinking his eyes open, he was surprised to see Roxas standing over him, the moonlight streaming in through his window making his face look as pale as Riku's would have been. He thought he was just having a realistic dream; it wasn't until Roxas crawled in bed next to him that Sora realized that he was awake and that something was wrong. Roxas was freezing cold. Sitting up, Sora pulled his blankets up around his brother's shoulders. "Roxas, what's wrong?"

Roxas's expression was somewhere between angry and terrified, his teeth chattering as he buried himself into Sora's bed, "Y-Your stupid ghost friend came into my room. I swear, I'm gonna find a way to bring that son of a bitch back to life and then I'm gonna kill him again."

"Why? What'd he do?"

Roxas frowned, feeling a little ashamed as he childishly grabbed onto his older brother's arm. "I woke up to someone pulling the sheets off my bed. I thought it was you until I realized there wasn't anyone there. Then I told Riku to stop but he only…laughed." Roxas shuddered then chuckled humorlessly, "Then an indent appeared on the bottom of my bed, like someone sat down…"

"What happened next?"

"I jumped out of bed and ran into your room like a little girl." Roxas shivered again and glanced up at him. "Gonna make me go back to my room?"

Sora shook his head, "No, you can stay here for the night."

Roxas nodded sleepily, "I was kind of hoping you'd say that…" Curling into the pillow, his brother quickly fell back asleep, obviously tired out from what he had just gone through. Unable to fall asleep after that story, Sora remained sitting up. Whatever Roxas had just experienced must have been terrifying. If there was one thing that Roxas hated, it was showing that he was afraid, and he had most definitely just shown that he had been afraid.

Sora was angry. While he didn't often act it, he was just as protective of Roxas as Roxas was of him. Roxas was only fourteen after all and no matter how mature he acted he was still just a kid.

Making sure that Roxas was really asleep, Sora then peered into the darkness of his room, pausing before he called out in a harsh whisper, "Riku? Riku, I know you're nearby somewhere! I need to talk to you!"

There was almost a shift in the air, and a moment later Riku walked out of the wall, his face emotionless. For a second, Sora was just shocked that Riku had even shown up but then his anger got the better of him and he scowled at the ghost, his voice still an angry whisper, "I don't know who you think you are, but you have no right scaring my little brother! I don't care if you stay in my room, but I won't let you harass Roxas no matter how angry you are at us!"

Riku blinked, his emotionless mask falling to indignant confusion. "What are you talking about?"

"Roxas just came into my room saying that you pulled off his covers!"

Riku's face darkened, "I wouldn't do that."

The frown on Sora's face lessened a little as he looked at Riku. His transparent face was stern; he certainly seemed to be telling the truth. "How do I know you aren't lying? If you weren't in Roxas's room, someone else had to be, and there can't really be more than one ghost in a house…" His voice trailed off as Riku failed to answer, "Right, Riku?"

"…Sora," Sora felt a small burst of happiness as he realized that Riku had said his name for the first time. He gave the ghost his full attention, his anger nearly all but gone. "I can't tell you much. All I can say is that it was not me in your brother's room."

"So, there is another ghost?"

Riku shook his head, "He is no ghost-" Cutting himself off, Riku closed his eyes, cringing as if some invisible force had just struck him. "And I have just revealed too much."

Curious now, Sora sat up straighter, glancing over to check that Roxas was still sleeping before continuing the quiet conversation. "What's the matter? If it's not a ghost, than what is it?"

"Do you want to know the truth, Sora?" Sora nodded and Riku sighed, drifting over to the window. The moonlight streamed through his body, leaving no trace of a shadow and yet it still seemed to bring a glow to his face. "The reason I call this room my own, besides the fact that it was actually where I slept when I was," he seemed to stumble a little over the next word, his low voice wavering slightly, "alive, is that this is the only room he doesn't come into. I don't know why he doesn't, but it's been my only sanctuary for a long time. He's like me, but at the same time, he's much stronger."

"What's his name?"

Riku shook his head then turned to smile wryly at Sora, "Now that is something I really can't tell you." He reached up, tucking a strand of his hair behind his ear, "If he's starting to act up, and is bothering your little brother, then I'm sorry, but there's nothing I can do about it."

Frowning, Sora clenched his hands into fists, "Riku, there has to be something you can tell me about this thing, something about him."

"All I know about him besides his name is what you showed me last week. It was the first time I remembered anyone." Riku was talking quickly now, forcing himself to get the words out despite the consequences. "You were the one who showed me that I wasn't the only person who had ever died in this house."

Sora's blue eyes drifted over to the desk where the papers from the library were still spread out. "Not the only one who…" He blinked then turned to look at Riku, grinning as he figured out what the ghost was talking about. "It's Ansem, isn't it? Ansem's a ghost too!"

Riku didn't respond, but instead was staring at the window, as if he heard something outside. His body tensed as the room began to rattle again and he stood up, moving closer to the bed as the sound of small scratches began to echo from the walls. Sora's eyes widened as the scratching got louder, reaching down to grab Roxas as the window iced up. Roxas woke up as the glass creaked from the cold, the change in temperature showing in the puffs of air their breaths were making. "Sora…?"

Sora shook his head, wincing as the room was suddenly filled with the sound of nails on a chalk board, his eyes flying over to the window to see that letters were being carved into the outside pane.

X-E-M-N-A-S.

Xemnas. Sora looked to see that Riku was shaking slightly, the ghost pressed against the wall. As if feeling that he was being watched, Riku looked over at him, smiling weakly, "It will be okay. He won't come into this room. But now you know…he doesn't call himself Ansem anymore."

Sora nodded shakily then gasped as he saw a shadowy hand come out of the wall beside the pale ghost. "Riku, look out!"

Riku turned and tried to move away from the wall but the hand was quicker and grabbed his wrist. Trying to twist away, Riku struggled as half a dozen black tendrils shot out of the shadows, wrapping around his torso and arms, pulling him back to the wall. Jumping out of bed, Sora ran to help him but stopped when Riku let out a shout. "Stay back! He's angrier than I thought!"

"You said he couldn't come into the room!"

Grimacing, Riku thrashed against his the shadows, his body beginning to sink through the wall, "He's after me, and I was against the wall." His eyes met Sora's, "I'll try and distract him from hurting you or your family, but I won't be able to hold him off forever! Just get out of this house!"

Everything stopped as soon as Riku disappeared. Letting out a shout, Sora ran over to the spot the ghost had disappeared. "Riku?" Getting no answer, Sora banged his fists against the solid wall. "Riku!" What had happened? Where had Riku gone and what was going to happen to him? He jumped as a hand fell on his shoulder, jerking around to see that it was only Roxas, the younger teen looking frightened and confused.

"Sora-"

He was interrupted by Leon, the man's voice an angry roar reverberating from the hallway. "What the hell is this?"

A second later, a pale-faced Cloud burst into the room, the blond man letting out a breath of relief when he saw that the two teens were safe. "You're okay!"

"Cloud…?"

The man shook his head, waving Sora and Roxas out into the hall, wrapping his arms around their shoulders protectively as they stepped out of the room. Sora gasped. The walls of the hallway, the stairs, even the ceiling, were covered in blood-red letters, spattered and jagged. They all said the same thing. Xemnas. Xemnas. Xemnas. The name covered every surface. Shivering, Sora grabbed onto Cloud, his eyes meeting Roxas's; things were serious now.


	7. Chapter 6: New Faces

Wow, you guys totally rock with all the reviews. Um, there were a lot of them, which was awesome, but unfortunately, it would also take up a whole lot of page length answering them all personally so…THANK YOU ALL WHO REVIEWED! Tysonkaiexperiment, Smiley Smackdown, key46812, Cho-Serake, BYEBYE908, Water Jewel Emi, Satsukifujin, Twilight Emo Wind Goddess 8..., Koneko Hoshi, b9 iNe, Kira Sakura, Jynxer120, yasu-yasu, Kanpa, T.W.P. You people are my gods and I worship the ground you walk on.

And as a token of my love and appreciation, here's an update for a belated Valentine's Day! And wow, this chapter is long…I didn't expect to ramble on so much…

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May 17, 2007

Roxas slammed a notebook down in front of Sora, startling the older teen from his attempt at eating breakfast. No one in the house had gotten much sleep after they had discovered the writing in the hallway. Leon had gone on an overprotective rampage; he was still wearing his gun holster even after searching the entire house. It had really irritated him when the search hadn't come up with any obvious sign of anyone breaking into the house but he took pictures of everything to document the "vandalism" as he called it. He had even gone so far as to dust for fingerprints at all the entry points using a crime scene investigation kit he had dug up from his and Cloud's closet, but no prints had shown up. In the end, he and Cloud had been forced to send Sora and Roxas back to bed, leaving both adults confused and troubled.

Now at the breakfast table, Cloud and Leon were still talking about the event, bouncing ideas off each other as to what could have happened as Sora stared blankly down at the notebook. Rolling his eyes, Roxas pushed the book closer to his brother's hand. "Here, I need you write down the conversation you had last night. And exactly what happened."

"Why?"

"Because I was wrong. Things are obviously not getting any better and I want to figure out what the hell is going on. Now, write."

Sora grimaced a little, "Why does it feel like I've just been given another homework assignment?" He paused then glanced up at Roxas, jabbing his cereal spoon in their parent's direction. "And what about them?"

Frowning, Roxas slid down into his chair, beginning to fill his own bowl, "We shouldn't tell them yet." He caught Sora's pout and his frown deepened, "Look. The truth is that they wouldn't believe us. I barely believe what's going on and I'll be the first to admit that weird things have happened to me too."

"I think we should tell them."

"They'll think we're crazy."

"But we know the truth, we should tell them." Roxas could only watch in silent horror as Sora raised his voice, interrupting Cloud and Leon in the middle of an argument over whether they needed to install an alarm system. "I know who wrote on the walls!" Leon stopped mid-sentence and Sora immediately had their attention. Pulling himself together for the reveal, Sora took a breath then said. "A ghost did. The house is haunted."

Leon and Cloud stared at him for a long moment. Roxas buried his face into his hands as Leon finally blinked out of his stupor and turned back to Cloud, "So, like I was saying, it is obviously in our best interest to install a new system."

Sora's cheeks puffed up indignantly as he was blatantly brushed off.

"I really don't think we need one. Its expensive Leon, I don't think we could pay the cost for each month. The only reason we bought the house in the first place was because it was just within our price range."

"I know but-"

"Hey!" Standing up, Sora leaned over the table, "You have to believe me! This place is haunted by an evil ghost and he's trying to scare us!"

Leon sighed then asked monotonously, "There's a ghost trying to scare us?"

"Well, one of them is. Something bad happened to the other one. His name is Riku. He died here, they both did, Roxas and I found out about them in the library!"

"So there are two ghosts?" Sora nodded and Leon glanced over at Cloud. Cloud subtly shrugged and Leon reached up to rub the bridge of his nose, his fingers trailing over his scar. It was a sure sign that he was at least slightly exasperated. "We'll keep that in mind. Now, grab your things. I need to drop the two of you off at school before heading off to work."

"But-"

Leon held up his hand, "No. This is serious Sora and as much as you're trying to…help, there are no such things as ghosts. It was just some kids or something playing a sick joke. Now, I know you're tired but it's getting late, so go grab your backpack. No complaints."

Knowing when a conversation had officially ended, Sora sighed but stayed quiet, much to Roxas's relief. Finishing his breakfast as quickly as possible, Roxas ran after Sora to grab his things for school, punching his older brother on the arm as they climbed the stairs. "Ow!" Sora frowned, looking back at Roxas, "What was that for?"

"For not thinking things through. Did you actually think they were going to believe you?" When Sora remained silent, Roxas rolled his eyes, "Look, if something is in this house, it's going to take a lot to convince those two. So just write down whatever you think happens in that book, okay?"

"You do believe me, right, Roxas?"

The question was quiet, betraying Sora's inner hesitance. Roxas snorted, pushing past his brother as they reached the second story landing. He stopped after a few feet, his hand resting against the wall. "It's not like I really have a choice," he muttered, just loud enough for Sora to hear. "If I can't believe you, I can't believe anyone. You're my big brother after all, weren't you the one who said I was supposed to believe you?"

Sora blinked then his face broke out into a wide grin. "I did say that, didn't I? I must be pretty smart!"

"Psh. You wish."

"Hey!"

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May 30, 2007

It had almost been two full weeks since the writing had appeared on the walls. Sora had dutifully begun to write any abnormal activity down in his notebook as Leon and Cloud became more and more exasperated with the house. The lights had started to flicker on and off at irregular times, so they had called an electrician. The man had come and gone in one afternoon, saying that the wiring in the house was in surprisingly good condition and that he couldn't find any problems. One morning Leon had gone downstairs only to find that the whole area stank, the stench somewhere between dung and rotting corpses, both of which he had unfortunately come in contact with during his duty as a police officer and so had been easily able to identify. Sora and Roxas had nearly gagged when they came down for breakfast that day, their appetites instantly ruined. Thinking that something was wrong with the sewage pipes, Leon had called a plumber to the house that very afternoon but the man had not only been unable to spot any problems, but he had also been unable to smell anything out of the ordinary.

Other strange things had been happening too, small things mysteriously disappearing, small phenomena adding up to something greater. At first, Leon and Cloud chalked the missing items up to the fact that they were still moving into the house. Things were bound to go missing among all the boxes, but it was obvious that it was starting to build on their nerves. Cloud had torn their closet apart looking for his favorite black sleeveless turtleneck, only to have it show up lying out on his bed five hours later after everyone had gone through all their clothes. Scuff marks were appearing in the hallway, the kind made from the soles of heavy boots, appearing as fast as they managed to clean them off. Hearing footsteps was now normal for Sora, even Roxas had admitted to hearing them sporadically throughout the night.

What was really bothering Sora though was the fact that he hadn't seen any sign of Riku since that night. He was really getting worried for the ghost. He wasn't even sure what had happened to him, or how one ghost could hurt another.

Sighing, Sora ran a hand through his brown spikes, staring down at his untouched History homework. How was he supposed to be able to write an essay on World War I when he was so worried?

"Sora…"

It was like a whisper against his ear but Sora had heard it and whipped around in his seat, his eyebrows furrowing when he saw no one in his room. His fingers rose absently to the crown necklace as he stood up, his own voice sounding small and hesitant. "Riku…?"

"…I can't…"

The voice had been recognizable as Riku's that time and Sora straightened up. "Riku, where are you? Are you alright?"

"…I can't…find you…"

Riku's voice was getting fainter, it was as if he was drifting away. Biting his lip, Sora moved to the middle of the room. "What do you mean? I'm right here, in your room." There was no response. "Riku!" Pressing a hand to his chest, Sora called out louder, "I'm right here, Riku! I want to see you, to make sure you're okay! Please!" His voice fell to a whisper, "I miss you…"

Sora let out a quiet gasp as the room's temperature suddenly dropped, goosebumps rippling up his arms as the heat seemed to be sucked away. A heartbeat later, Riku collapsed out of the wall, the ghost catching himself and looking around with an almost lost expression on his face. His glow was dimmer than Sora had ever seen it. While Sora had been able to see most of his legs before, the ghost's body dissolved into the air closer around the waistline, almost as if he was starting to fade away.

Running over to him, Sora watched anxiously as Riku pulled himself together, wanting nothing more than to reach out and steady the other's shoulders. "Riku! What happened to you? What did he do to you? Are you going to be okay?"

Shaking his head, Riku blinked, as if seeing Sora for the first time. He frowned disapprovingly, his voice strengthening the more he spoke. "Sora, I thought I told you to leave this house!"

"I couldn't without knowing what happened to you! Besides," he added, "Cloud and Leon won't leave without a really good reason. And they didn't believe me when I said the house is haunted." Sighing, Sora turned to Riku, catching his pale gray gaze with his own blue. "But I really was worried about you…"

"You shouldn't have been." Riku floated over Sora's desk, the action looking stranger now that his legs had vanished. "After all, I am dead. It is not as if he could physically hurt me anymore."

"Then what happened to your lower half?" Sora asked, squatting down and waving his hands under Riku's torso for emphasis, "You had legs before! And you glowed more!"

"Will you stop that, it's rather disconcerting." Sora pulled his hand back, smiling sheepishly up at Riku. "Thank you. As for your question…I'm not sure I can actually answer it. After I was pulled through the wall, everything was just," Riku paused, searching for the right word, "dark. Xemnas yelled at me for a while then left. It felt as if I was being pushed farther into the shadows. If I hadn't heard your voice, I might have been completely consumed by them."

A light pink blush blossomed over Sora's face and he turned away, not wanting Riku to see. "Well, I'm glad you're okay. And I'm sorry we didn't move out."

Riku sighed, "It's alright. I suppose I'm actually in your debt because of the fact that you didn't listen…" Seeing Sora shift embarrassedly, he subtly changed topics, "Has Xemnas been bothering you much?"

"Um, no, not really. Maybe he's doing some little things, but nothing too bad."

Letting out a breath of relief, Riku nodded. "Good. I was afraid that he might have. Hopefully he should not act up again so violently any time soon, although it is hard for even me to tell…" His voice trailed off as his eyes drifted over Sora's homework. "What are you reading?"

"Hm?" Sora turned to see Riku looking down at his textbook with interest. "Oh. That's just my history homework. I have to write a stupid essay on World War I."

"World War?"

Riku's voice had sounded incredulous and a little bit awed, making Sora smile. "I forgot! It happened after you died. You can read it if you want to, it'll give me an excuse to procrastinate."

Riku reached down, his white hand hovering above the page as his lips curved up into a small smile. "It's strange."

"What is?"

"I have been in this house for so long, but you are the first person who has ever offered me something." Their eyes met and Sora found himself fighting down another blush. "Thank you."

"N-No problem! It's just my history book after all!" Sora laughed off his awkwardness, "Besides, I should be thanking you. Now I won't have to think about that essay for a while!"

An hour passed and much to Sora's surprise, Riku was still reading the history book. Sora wasn't sure how anybody could find history that fascinating but maybe Riku was just hungry for knowledge? It had taken the ghost a few tries, but he was even able to turn the pages by himself although it looked a little strange because he wasn't actually touching the pages. He had tried that, but his fingers had gone straight through the paper. Instead, he let his fingers hover just over the page, turning it with a jerk of his hand that looked more like him creating a small puff of wind than anything else.

Sora had just settled down on his bed with a comic book when Roxas knocked on his half-open door, his skateboard under his arm. "Hayner called. I'm going to the skate park then eating dinner with his family."

"That's cool. Are Pence and Olette going to the skate park too?"

"Ya, ya. They're coming too." Roxas rolled his eyes, "It's great to know you trust me and Hayner to act responsibly by ours-" He cut himself off suddenly as he caught sight of a page in the history book turn over. His face paled for a moment before he composed himself, his blue eyes narrowing, "Is Riku here?"

Sora smiled brightly, "Yep! He's reading."

"Okay Riku, listen up," Roxas pointed blindly at the desk, luckily managing to point toward the ghost. Riku looked surprised at being directly addressed and stared amusedly up at Roxas as the younger teen continued. "I'm setting some ground rules! One, you don't ever come into this room when Sora doesn't want you to. Two, if you scare him, I will find a way to hurt you. Three, if you try and scare me, I will find a way to make your afterlife hell. Got that?"

Riku rolled his eyes and turned back to the history book. "I think he heard you," Sora chirped, smiling from Riku's reaction. "He nodded and everything."

"I did not."

Roxas frowned, "He just said something, didn't he?"

"Um, no?"

Snorting, Roxas put his hand on his hip. "Whatever. It's your fault now if you get in over your head." The blond perked up as he heard the front door open, "Hey, Cloud's home! Think I could get him to let me ride on his bike to the park?"

"Nope! You'll get to ride with Leon!"

"Hmph. Probably." Roxas's frown deepened as he heard clattering downstairs, "What are they doing down there?"

Sora opened his mouth but before he could get an answer out, Leon's voice rang up from the first floor. "Cloud!" Hearing the deep shout, Sora and Roxas ran out of the bedroom, Sora letting out a worried cry as he saw Leon leaning over Cloud, the blond man lying unconscious in the entryway.

Pulling Cloud's head onto his lap, Leon reached down to the other's neck to feel for a pulse, his brows furrowed with concern as Roxas asked, "What happened?"

"I don't know. He came in then just stumbled and collapsed." Leon let out a hiss of worry, "Damn, he's not waking up. Roxas, go get the phone. I'm calling an ambulance."

Sora's fingers tightened around the banister as Roxas flew down the last few steps toward the phone in the parlor, his eyes wide as he watched Leon try to wake up Cloud. His heart skipped a beat as a form suddenly appeared beside him, heaving a breath of relief when he saw that it was only Riku. Sending a quick wavering smile in the ghost's direction, Sora moved to climb down the last few steps but stopped as Riku threw his arm out, blocking his path. "Don't go down there."

"But Cloud-"

Riku shook his head, cutting Sora off, his eyes locked on Cloud's body. His face was more serious than Sora had ever seen it, his body visibly tense as the ghost spoke again, louder this time. "Xemnas, get out of his body."

Cloud's eyes snapped open and Sora gasped. The man's usual electric blue eyes were now nearly glowing. He smirked, "You have become quite bold, Riku. Ordering me about."

Leon frowned, "Cloud, who's Riku? And what happened, are you sick?" He reached out to touch Cloud's cheek only to have his hand smacked away.

Sora could feel his own body instinctively tense as Cloud awkwardly picked himself up from the ground, his movements slightly off. Cloud took a step toward the stairs, chuckling as Riku took a step back, the teenage ghost now on the same stair as Sora as Cloud spoke up again. "I would have never thought that you could stand up to me. But perhaps it is more the fault of the person who has been influencing you lately?"

Cloud turned his gaze onto Sora who felt his heart begin to hammer in his chest. Whoever this was in front of him, it wasn't Cloud. Riku shifted beside him then suddenly stepped forward, blocking Sora with his insubstantial body, his chin lifted defiantly. "I will not let you hurt him, Xemnas."

"As if you have a choice in the matter."

Beginning to feel like a trapped animal, Sora backed further up the stairs, his eyes darting down to the other adult in the room. "L-Leon…"

Leon heard the fear in Sora's voice and stepped over to Cloud, his voice low. "Cloud, you're talking to yourself. You're scaring Sora and I'm still concerned about the fall you just took. We could probably call your supervising doctor." He grabbed Cloud's arm only to have Cloud whip around and punch him across the face, the blond's face enraged.

"Don't touch me!"

Leon shook his head, rubbing his injured jaw. He had forgotten how hard Cloud punched. He quickly pulled himself out of his shock and grabbed Cloud's arm again. "What the hell was that for, Cloud?"

"Cloud?" The blond man chuckled, "You wish."

In a flash, Cloud had kicked Leon in the stomach, the blow sending the brown-haired man flying across the entry way and hitting the wall on the other side, knocking the breath out of him. Coughing, Leon stumbled up onto his feet as Cloud started climbing up the stairs for Sora. He grabbed a fistful of the back of Cloud's shirt, pulling him back onto the ground floor. Cloud immediately turned on him. Leon blocked the kicks and punches as well as he could, finally managing to capture both of Cloud's arms and pin them behind his back. Panting, Leon pulled Cloud to his chest, ignoring the bruises and pains in his body. "Cloud! Stop! It's me, Leon."

"He's not going to stop."

Sora glanced over at Riku then swallowed, repeating what the ghost had said for Leon's benefit. "Leon, that's not Cloud! He's not going to stop because he's being possessed!"

Growling, Leon tightened his grip on Cloud's arms, "Not now Sora."

"But it's true! The ghost inside him is named Xemnas!"

Leon let out a shout as Cloud lunged forward, the blond screaming angrily. "Do not say my name so lightly, brat! I have killed for lesser things!" In a new burst of strength, he snapped his head back, smacking it into Leon's. Crying out as a white flash of pain shot through him, Leon's grip on Cloud momentarily loosened, allowing the other man to wrench himself free. A new pang of fright struck Sora as their eyes met. The predatory look in Cloud's gaze terrifying. He saw Riku stiffen next to him as Cloud stepped toward them, his fear growing when he realized that Riku probably wouldn't be able to help him.

"Hey, Xemnas!" The voice cut through Sora's fear, the shout followed by a loud crack. Cloud stumbled, blinked, then crumpled to the ground, revealing Roxas with his skateboard held up over his head. The blond teen was scowling darkly as he lowered the makeshift weapon, "No one messes with my family, you freak."

Sora let out a shaky breath of relief before his eyes widened, "Roxas, what did you do? You killed him!"

"I didn't kill him, idiot, I just knocked him out. You're welcome by the way, for possibly saving your life."

Leon straightened up shakily, wrapping an arm around his aching ribs as he rubbed the spot on his forehead that the back of Cloud's head had made contact with. "What, what the hell just happened…?"

"I told you what happened," Sora said, slowly making his way down the stairs, "Xemnas possessed Cloud." He bit his lip then glanced over at Riku, whispering, "He's okay now, right?"

Riku paused, eyeing Cloud carefully before he nodded. "Yes. Xemnas is gone anyway. He should be back to normal when he wakes up."

Everyone froze as Cloud let out a low groan, his eyebrows furrowing as he began to come to. Hesitantly, Leon kneeled down next to him as his eyes opened. They were back to their normal blue color and showed Cloud's confusion as he looked up to see his husband leaning over him battered and bruised. "What…what happened?"

"You fainted. And then threatened Sora. And then resisted when I tried to calm you down."

"What he means to say," Roxas added, "Is that you would have killed Sora if he hadn't stepped in, but then you beat him up instead and I had to knock you out."

Cloud frowned, rubbing the back of his head as he looked up at Leon, "Why didn't you fight back?"

"I didn't want to hurt you. Ow! Damn it, you already hit me there!" He cursed as Cloud smacked him across the cheek.

The blond sat up, grimacing a little as he clutched the back of his head. "That, Squall Leonheart Strife, is for being an idiot. You should have just taken me down first thing. Ugh, my head…Shit, I don't even remember anything that happened…"

Leon frowned then closed his eyes. After a long moment, he let out a low sigh. "Roxas, you know those people you told me about a week ago?" Roxas nodded as Sora blinked in confusion. "Go ahead and give them a call."

"I thought you said we didn't need them."

"Things have changed since then." Standing up, Leon helped Cloud to his feet, "As long as they won't cost us money, I don't care what they do."

Sora tilted his head to the side as their parents left the room, "Roxas, what is he talking about?"

Roxas smirked, "I've done a little research on my own. I thought it might be nice to have someone who's actually interested in all this to come take a look. They're still in college so it should be a good laugh if nothing else."

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June 4, 2007

Two cars pulled into the driveway of the Strife family home late Friday afternoon. A young man quickly bounced out of the passenger seat of one of the cars, his dirty blond hair stuck up in a strange style that looked like it was somewhere between punk rock and a mullet. "Wow, check it out Zexion, this house is awesome!"

A shorter, violet haired man slid out from the driver's side, gazing languidly at the house for a moment before shrugging. "We've been to better, though it certainly does fit the stereotypical description."

"Huh?"

Zexion rolled his eyes, "It's the oldest house on the block, the neighborhood was undoubtedly built around it judging by the difference in architecture and size. Use your eyes Demyx."

"Not to mention that it just screams 'haunted', right?"

Zexion and Demyx turned, Zexion frowning lightly, "You never did tell us exactly what we were getting into here."

"That's because I don't know. I've been getting e-mails for days but they never really said much." Taking a final drag on his cigarette, the man dropped it on the cement driveway, smothering it with the heel of his boot, "But there's no time like the present to find out."

"He seems happy today." Demyx smiled as he opened up the back door to their car, "Come on Nami, we're here!"

Zexion shook his head as a slender blond girl slid out of the back seat, "Demyx, you know the drill. She's not allowed inside until all the residents are out of the house if we want a good reading. And as for Axel…I think he's just happy to finally get another case that looks real."


	8. Chapter 7: A Picture Says 1,000 Words

Hi! Um ya, sorry about the time lag for this update. My energy's been ground into the dirt from incessant testing so for the last few days I basically haven't come out of my room except for school. Pity my friends and family, dear readers, for I have been snippy lately…; Anyway, awesome jobs on all the reviews! PirataNoctis, Tysonkaiexperiment, Smiley Smackdown, ZSAngel, WaterJewelEmi, b9 iNe, TheOriginalBrokenDreamer, key46812, T.W.P., Kira Sakura, Jynxer120, Capt. Angel, bliss, Koneko Hoshi, Randomasdf, Cho-Serake, earth2water1element. Dudes, you guys keep me writing, way to go! ;) I'm glad everyone seemed to enjoy Axel, Demyx, and Zexion coming into the scene. Finally, right? My summery did not lie. Now, let's continue on with the story!

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June 4, 2007

Walking up the house, Axel rapped against the front door with his knuckles, crossing his arms as he listened to the sound of someone running down the stairs on the other side before the door flung open to reveal a short blond teenager. The teen took one look at Axel's red spiked hair and punk clothes before he scowled, his fingers tightening on the door, "Oh, sorry, I thought you were someone else."

Axel stuck his foot in the doorway as Roxas made to slam it shut. "Hey cutie, hold on a sec. We're supposed to be here. I'm looking for someone named Roxas, seen him around?"

Roxas's scowl deepened but his hands dropped down to his sides, "That's the last time I give anyone our address before getting a picture." He glanced up at Axel, "Well, are you coming in or not?"

"Don't tell me you're Roxas?"

Offended at the other's tone, Roxas's blue eyes narrowed, "Got a problem with that?"

Axel sighed. "Look kid, we can't go around taking care of your imaginary friends. Shit, do your parents even know we're here?"

"They know and they said it was fine. I wasn't lying about what I told you. Now are you coming in or not?"

"We might as well since we're here." Frowning, Axel nonetheless stuck his hand out, "The name's Axel by the way. Got that?"

Roxas shook the offered hand, dropping it as quickly as he could manage as he peered around Axel to look at the two cars and three other members of the group. "Sure, Axel, whatever." He paused then raised an eyebrow as a blond man leaning against the car caught sight of him and waved happily. "Are they coming in too or do you do this all on your own?"

A smirk settled on Axel's face, the expression making Roxas instantly wary. "Oh, they're going inside. They're just waiting for you to get out."

"Excuse me?"

Axel shrugged. "We need a clean slate to work with during the investigation. We've had people try to mess with our readings while we were looking around their house so now it's just easier to have everyone leave."

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Two hours later Leon had got home to find Roxas and Sora lounging out on the front lawn, doing their best to enjoy themselves in the warm evening air. Pulling up in back of the two cars, he parked then walked over to the boys, a frown on his face. "Roxas, what's going on? Why are you outside?"

Roxas shrugged, leaning back into the grass with his hands behind his head, mirroring his brother's position. "I don't know, something about them getting a good reading, whatever that means. Nothing's blown up inside, so I just left them alone."

Leon crossed his arms then sighed, checking his watch. "How much longer are they going to be? Cloud's coming home in an hour and I still need to make dinner."

Roxas and Sora glanced at each other, a little surprised before Roxas shrugged again. "They didn't really give me a schedule. They might be done soon though." Usually Leon would have been angrier about strangers being in his house unattended. He must actually have been worried about what was going on then. Ever since Cloud had been possessed, Leon had grown quieter, and no longer mentioned any of the strange things going on in the house. It was as if he had retreated back into his mind; understandable since his world had been turned upside-down from that experience.

Sitting up, Sora pulled himself up onto his feet then brushed the grass off his legs and back. "I'll go see if they're going to be done soon. I wanted to see what they were doing anyway!"

Roxas frowned, standing up too. "I'm going with you, I'm tired of waiting out here."

"Why don't we all go inside?" Leon suggested, putting a hand on both boy's shoulders and steering them to the front door.

When they got inside the house, Sora was surprised to see that nothing looked too out of the ordinary. There were no strange markings or chanting or anything. It was a little disappointing. They found the four college students bunched together in the parlor, all of them looking down at a small machine as the violet-haired one pointed it around the room. Axel's eyes widened a little as he saw them in the doorway, straightening up. "Aw hell, I told you to wait outside, not get arrested."

Sora blinked as Roxas rolled his eyes, glancing over at Leon who was still dressed in his uniform and looking grimly amused. Grinning, he shook his head, "No, this is Leon, our dad."

Cutting past the introductions, Leon's nodded toward the device in Zexion's hands, "Isn't that a Geiger counter?"

Axel nodded, the smirk finally falling off his face, "Ya, Zexion brought it out as a last attempt to find any abnormalities."

"You mean you haven't found anything else?" Sora asked, his brows drawing together as Axel shook his head. "But, there are ghosts in the house! You have to have found something!"

Demyx bit his lip at the teen's distress, smiling weakly as he tried to be optimistic, "Maybe they're just hiding? It happens…sometimes….right Zexy?"

Zexion grunted non-committedly. "The house seems normal by all scientific standards. And Namine hasn't been able to pick up on anything either. The chances are very slim that ghosts would be sentient enough to hide from us if they were here, leading to the conclusion that there are no ghosts." He glanced over at Demyx to see him frowning, "I can't argue with the facts Demyx, you know that."

Stepping forward, Axel waved Demyx and Zexion away dismissively as Demyx began to chastise the other for destroying children's dreams. "Ignore them. They've been dating for five months now, they love each other, really." He put his hands on his hips, "The point is that we haven't found anything. I'm saying things have been almost freakishly normal here, nothing at all out of the ordinary. Now if you have some sort of proof, then we'd have a different story."

Leon glanced down at Sora. "Sora, I gave you those photos of the wall with the writing all over it, where did you put them?"

"Oh, I put them in the notebook Roxas gave me," Sora's eyes brightened. "Which is all the proof you'll need! I've written everything down in there!" He ran over to the stairs, shouting over his shoulder, "I'll be back in a second!"

When he ran into his room Sora was surprised to find Riku standing in the far corner, his arms crossed over his chest. The ghost looked at him with a level gaze, frowning almost accusingly. "I've been waiting for you. What were those strangers doing here alone in the house?"

"They're here to prove that you're really here! But they said they couldn't find anything, which is weird, because you're standing right there! Didn't they come into my room?"

Riku looked away, the frown still on his lips, "Yes. I didn't like that they were here without you though, so I hid from them. Just like Xemnas is doing."

"Xemnas is hiding?"

Riku nodded curtly, glancing back at Sora. "Can't you feel it? The air is so much lighter without him weighing it down with his oppression." At Sora's blank stare, he shook his head, unable to help a smile from passing over his face. "You certainly are something. Now, what did you mean when you said that they were going to prove that I'm really here?"

"Well," Sora sighed, dropping down onto the edge of his bed, kicking his feet. "No one really believes in ghosts, you know? What I mean is, I'm the only one who's actually seen you, except Roxas, but he'd never admit to anything, and no one really believes me without any actual proof. My family does of course, but that's because they have to believe me otherwise we'd all be crazy."

"I'd believe you."

Sora raised his head, smiling sheepishly up at the ghost as a bit of pink touched his cheeks. "You have to believe me, you're the one doing the haunting!"

Riku rolled his eyes, returning the Sora's smile with a small one of his own. "What I mean to say is that I would believe you were I still alive."

Feeling his blush deepen, Sora turned away, clearing his throat lightly as his eyes fell on his desk and the journal tucked under a few stray pages of homework. "Riku…"

"Hm?"

"Would you come downstairs with me?" Seeing Riku frown, Sora still pressed further, "Please? I really want people to know about you, about Xemnas. They might be able to help. I want to try to help you, but I don't think I can do it on my own. But they know what they're doing and so they might have better ideas than me. Roxas told me that they've investigated a lot of houses before, so they've probably got a lot of experience. And you could come back upstairs any time you wanted!"

Riku looked down at the ground, his face unreadable. After a long moment, he let out a sigh, the noise echoing through the room as he raised his head and nodded softly. "Very well, I'll go down with you."

"Yay! Thanks Riku, you're the best!" Hopping off the bed, Sora grabbed the notebook, tucking it under his arm as he waved eagerly, "Come on!"

Riku followed Sora, looking far less excited then the bubbly teen as Sora ran down the stairs. About to enter into the parlor, Sora paused, realizing that Riku wasn't right behind him any more. He turned, his smile dimming a bit when he saw Riku hanging back in the entry way. Noticing the almost hesitant look on the ghost's face, Sora tilted his head to the side. "Riku, what's wrong?"

"…Do you know what they're planning on doing, if they do detect me?"

"Not really. Why? Are you worried?" Silence answered Sora's question and the teen's smile softened. Riku really was worried. "It's going to be okay, I won't let them do anything to you. And besides, you're my friend, not a bad ghost, right? So there's no problem." Riku chuckled weakly at the other's serious tone, but nonetheless floated closer to him as Sora motioned him to come forward, sticking to the teen's shadow as Sora walked into the parlor.

As soon as they entered the room, Namine had looked up, her eyes locking onto Sora's. Sora held in a gasp; it felt like her gaze was passing right though him, looking straight through him. Her delicate mouth opened with a silent gasp and she quickly covered it with a hand, her other hand reaching over to tug on Demyx's shirt. "Demyx. Quickly, get my sketchbook!"

Demyx immediately broke off his conversation with Zexion who was himself looking as surprised as the blond as he dove for their bags. Searching wildly through a mess of equipment, Demyx pulled out a notebook and a pencil, hurrying back over to Namine, "What is it Nami, do you sense something?"

The younger girl nodded, whipping the sketchbook open, beginning to draw on the first open page she found. Leon frowned curiously, pulling himself out of his silence, "What is she doing?"

Crossing his arms, Axel watched as Namine frantically drew. "Namine is Demyx's little sister. They're family is Wiccan but more importantly, Nami is sensitive to spirit activity."

"That's right," Demyx nodded somewhat distractedly, standing behind the couch Namine was sitting on as he watched her sketch, "She gets this snapshot of the spirit in her head and then sketches it out while the image is still fresh in her head. Isn't that awesome?"

"You're Wiccan?" Roxas asked, voicing both his and Sora's surprise. Demyx looked anything but Wiccan with his styled hair, casual cargo shorts and faded band t-shirt.

"Yep! We're Wiccan. Faith in the God, Goddess, four elements and all that. I tend toward water myself; Mom says it's because I'm kinda emotional for a guy. The girls in our family get all the fun ESP though, totally not fair." He sighed dramatically, shaking his head as Namine continued to sketch in front of him.

Sora glanced back to see how Riku was holding up. The ghost's eyes were darting about nervously to all the new faces, his body poised as if he was forcing himself to stay where he was despite every desire to run away. With a start, Sora realized that this was probably the first time in over a hundred years that the ghost had willingly been in the same room with so many people. A wave of pride washed over him and Sora smiled comfortingly at him, not looking away until he got the tiniest hint of a smile in return.

The sound of Namine's pencil scratching on the paper was the only sound in the room as everyone quietly waited for her to finish. Sora was about to busy himself with looking through the notes in his book when he heard the front door rattling. Perking up, he leaned out of the parlor, Riku scooting politely to the side to give him a clear view of the front door as Cloud walked in. "Welcome home, Cloud! The ghost people are here!"

When Sora said Cloud's name, Leon had perked up as well, walking out into the entry way to talk to the other older man just as Namine let out a small noise of satisfaction. She blushed modestly as she gently set the sketchbook down onto the table, her voice quiet as she explained herself, "I'm sorry it took so long, the image is very intense…"

They all crowded around the picture, Sora letting out a breath of air when he caught sight of what she had drawn. Riku was on the page, accurate down to the slope of his jaw and the way his hair fell about his face, but there was a blindfold wrapped over his eyes. The background was completely filled in, dark and foreboding as it seemed to be almost coming alive, tendrils wrapped around Riku's arms and chest. Sora felt his chest tighten painfully; it was just like the time Xemnas had pulled Riku through the wall. The sketched Riku's face however was blank, the small frown almost resigned rather than defiant or scared. The expression sent chills down Sora's spine and he backed away from the picture, glancing back to see Riku's expression only to find that the ghost had disappeared. Biting his lip, he looked back at Namine. "Why, why did you draw him like that?"

"It's what I saw." Namine frowned, her fingers tightening around her pencil as she clutched it to her lap. "He seems trapped and lost. I can't explain it but it's almost as if he doesn't know anything about his past or who he is…"

Axel crossed his arms, "What I want to know is why we didn't catch this guy on the first walk-though."

"He's connected to Sora, isn't he?" Sora found himself unable to look away from Namine's gaze as all eyes turned on him. She smiled softly as he swallowed. "I only sensed him when you came down. You can see him, can't you? You didn't seem too surprised when you saw my drawing."

Opening his mouth, Sora reached up to clutch at the necklace hanging around his neck. "I…" he paused then smiled, "I can see him, when I'm wearing this. I found it in the house and Riku says it was his and when I touch it, I can talk to him and see him. I don't know why it works like that…"

Axel hummed thoughtfully before he walked over to Sora to get a closer look at the necklace. "I suppose it makes sense if it was his. Spirits often attach themselves to objects that they thought were important." Leaning down, Axel poked at the chain, "Hey kid, do you think we can take a look at that?"

"No." Sora blinked, surprised at himself for the outburst before he shook his head, "I like to keep it on. Riku's my friend and I want him to know that I can see him. It would hurt him I think, if I wasn't able to."

"We'd only need it for a few seconds-"

"He said he didn't want to take it off," Roxas snapped, his scowl deepening as Axel turned around to face him. He didn't know why, but Axel just pissed him of for some reason. Maybe it was that infuriating smirk. Whatever the reason, he didn't ease off on his glare any as Axel shrugged.

"Hey, calm down punk, I wasn't going to force him." Grinning, Axel propped a hip out to the side as he gave Roxas a wink. "You're pretty cute when you're angry though."

"I hope you're not hitting on my son."

Axel froze, chuckling weakly as he turned around slowly to find Leon standing behind him with his hands perched warningly on his belt, Cloud looking amused behind his husband. "Eh heh…Of course not, sir. I was just messing with him, he's a fun kid to tease, you know?" He cleared his throat, "Sorry."

Snorting, Leon shook his head, "Whatever. How much longer are you staying?"

Axel glanced back at Zexion, "What do you think Zexion? Do you think we have enough to stay?"

Zexion frowned. "I'm not sure. We have the picture but-"

"Oh! You have this too!" Sora jumped forward, slapping the notebook down onto the coffee table. "I wrote everything that happened down here, even everything that Riku's talked about! Oh, and the photos are in here too, from when Xemnas wrote all over the hallway walls. Here, look!"

Zexion's eyebrows furrowed as Sora pulled a bundle of photos from the notebook and thrust them into his face. "Hm, Axel told me about that while we were searching the house but I didn't know you actually had solid proof." Snapping the pictures out of Sora's hands, Zexion examined them closely, his visible eye narrowing thoughtfully. Leon had done a good job capturing the writing, Xemnas's name just as blood red and nearly as sinister in the photos as it was in real life. "This is good documentation."

"Zexy gave a compliment? I want to see!" Demyx ran around the couch, sitting almost on top of the shorter man as he stared at the photos. "Oh wow…that's sort of creepy."

Curious, Axel took the photo that Zexion held out for him, letting out a low whistle. "Hey, now this is something…" Frowning, he turned back to Leon. "With your permission, I think it'd be best if we stayed the night. I think you've really got yourself something here."

"As long as you don't get in my way, I don't care. Cloud?"

Cloud shrugged, "At least it's the weekend tomorrow, we won't have to leave early, so I don't have a problem with it. Do you have things to stay overnight?"

"We probably won't be sleeping much, but we always keep a few things in the back of the car."

"Axel!" Axel turned at the urgency in Zexion's voice, his bright green eyes narrowing at the shock written across the normally stoic man's face, "The photos."

Axel looked back down at the picture in his hand. "What the hell?" The writing had changed. It had suddenly become illegible, the letters warped and running down the wall, looking more like blood spatter in a crime scene than words.

Zexion shook his head, spreading out the other photos on the table, all of which showed the same bleeding walls. "I can't explain this on any scientific terms."

Smiling grimly, Axel tossed his photo onto the table with the others, "Well this just got a whole lot more interesting. Let's get all of the rest of the equipment unpacked."


	9. Chapter 8: First Night

Woot! New chapter ahead! Muahahaha! What will happen, no one knows:) (Unless you're like Koneko Hoshi of course and somehow reading my plot ideas through the computer screen…Which totally kills the suspense by the way ;) ) Reviewers, you are ten times more awesome than you say I am, and that's not modesty, you're just that cool! Thanks to: TheOriginalBrokenDreamer, Kira Sakura, Randomasdf, yasu-yasu, orange.tictacs, key46812, Satsukifujin, Jynxer120, Smiley Smackdown, PyschoB, psalmofsummer, Kanpa, Koneko Hoshi, bonbonpich, bliss, PirataNoctis, DramaQueen1193, Twilight Emo Wind Goddess 801, chibi heishi. I do a happy dance whenever I get a new review! And I'm really excited about maybe hitting 100! Go, readers, go! XD

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4, June 2007

It took the ghost hunters a relatively short time to get everything unpacked from their cars, making it obvious that this sort of thing was clearly routine. Leon had given up on actually cooking anything for dinner now that they had four extra houseguests, deciding to order pizza instead. He had even been kind enough to pay for the order himself.

At the moment, Sora was sitting idly on the edge of his bed, kicking his feet as he watched Zexion set up a small camera in the corner of his room. The team had been setting cameras up all over the house, though mainly in the spots that had been the sites of intense paranormal activity; Sora's room, the upstairs hallway, Roxas's room, and the down stairs entry way. While the thought of having a camera record his every move was a little discomforting, Sora was still excited about the idea about maybe catching something on film.

Leaning forward as Zexion put the finishing touches on the angle of the shot, Sora asked curiously, "So, what do you usually catch on these things? Anything interesting?"

"The cameras capture visual signs of paranormal phenomena and it depends on your definition of interesting."

Sora frowned at the monotonous answer but accepted it for what it was; after all, Zexion didn't really seem like the talkative type. "So…what are you going to do next?"

"Test the equipment."

Letting out a breath of air, Sora shook his head then looked at the camera. It was focused right on his bed. Creepy. Of course it would be creepier still if they actually caught anything happening to him while he was sleeping. Well, he would be fine if it was only Riku hovering around. Sora blushed a bit at the thought then thoughtfully scanned the room. He hadn't seen any sign of Riku since he had forced the ghost to go downstairs. He hoped that he hadn't done anything to make Riku angry, but it really seemed as if the other was giving him the cold shoulder. Maybe he shouldn't have pressured Riku so much.

Seeing Soras's dejected expression and perhaps thinking that he was the cause of it, Zexion let out a small sigh then spoke up. "Come on, the others are all downstairs."

Sora blinked then nodded, following Zexion out of his room, not without taking one last glance around the room, anxiety building up in his chest. What if Riku was in trouble, what if Xemnas had gotten to him? Biting his lip, he closed the door to his room behind him, fingers wrapping around the crown charm on his necklace. He wanted to apologize, or at least find out what he had done wrong. Or at least know that Riku was okay.

Downstairs, people were already crowded around the dining room table where the pizza boxes were out and open. It was a late meal, but at least it was something. Grabbing a plate, Sora pulled a few slices onto his plate before going to sit on the couch next to Roxas, the parlor acting as the official eating area since the dining table only had four chairs. Roxas nudged him lightly, drawing a small smile from his older brother as he made a face. "This is kinda weird, huh?"

"Ya…"

Roxas frowned a little at the response, his frown deepening into a scowl as Axel plopped down on his other side. The added weight made the couch cushion sink down and Roxas's body slide over against his will, bumping against the red-head's leg. Growling, Roxas pulled away, sitting almost on Sora's lap instead as Axel rolled his eyes. "Come on kid, I'm not gonna bite!"

"Whatever, pedo. I'm not taking any chances."

"Now that's a little harsh, don't you think?"

"No."

Sighing dramatically, Axel shrugged, "Fine, have it your way, admire me from afar."

Roxas snorted, glancing over at Sora who had begun to grin at the other two's banter. "What are you smiling at?"

Shaking his head, Sora only stuffed a piece of pizza into his mouth, the room falling a little quiet as everyone finally sat down with their food. Taking this as a sign to begin explaining, Axel sat up, setting his plate on the coffee table. "Alright. So, all the cameras are set up, right Zexion?"

Zexion nodded, balancing his laptop on his legs, turning the screen around to show the rest of the room the images of the live feeds coming in from the recordings. "Everything is working well enough."

"Good. Now that the cameras are set up, I think we should make an attempt to contact one of these spirits. They're obviously smarter than we first gave them credit for, so maybe they'd be willing to talk to us."

Sora swallowed his mouthful of food as a shudder ran down his back, "Y-You're not going to try and talk to-" Sora paused then closed his eyes. Riku said the name all the time without being scared of what would happen; the he should at least be able to say it once, "You're not going to try and talk to Xemnas are you? That could get dangerous!"

Quirking an eyebrow up, Axel turned his green-eyed gaze toward Sora, "Actually, I wasn't talking about Xemnas. Care to explain for us, Demyx?"

Demyx nodded eagerly, sitting forward as beside him, Zexion's gaze turned down to his laptop monitor, having heard the explanation before. "You see, if we're gonna have a séance, it helps to have something that will call the spirit to us, that way the spirit comes faster and generally is more willing to talk. This thing usually was something that belonged to the spirit or is attributed to them," he chuckled lightly then pointed at Sora, "Like that necklace! It's perfect!"

Namine spoke up, interceding before Sora could protest. "We already know that it allows some connection between you and Riku so it really would be the best thing to use. We wouldn't be using it for very long and you'd get it back as soon as the séance was over."

Frowning, Sora looked down at his lap, biting his lip. He didn't want to take the necklace off but if it would help with the investigation…After another second's thought, he sighed then glanced up with a weak smile. "Okay, you can have it if you want."

Grinning, Demyx clapped his hands together, "This is going to be great! It's been a while since we've actually done a serious séance! Are you feeling up to it Nami?" Namine nodded and Demyx's smile widened, "Yay! This is going to be so cool! I'll get the table ready, come on Zexion!"

Zexion let out a grunt of protest as Demyx grabbed his arm, pulling the shorter man away from his precious computer and into the dining room. As they left the room, Cloud spoke up. "So what exactly happens during a séance?" Sitting beside him, Leon only rolled his eyes; Cloud was starting to get into these supernatural ideas too.

Noting but ignoring Leon's skepticism, Axel shrugged, "About what you expect although Demyx and Namine's family found their own special way of calling spirits. A group of people sit around a table and hold hands. The special object goes in the middle of the table, Nami or Demyx say something magical and probably meaningful to call the spirit out and then they ask it questions. We'll have an EVP recorder on the table as well, so hopefully if there's actually a ghost there, we'll be able to pick up on its responses if we don't actually hear anything."

Despite his urge to completely ignore Axel, Roxas could help but ask, "EVP?"

"Electronic Voice Phenomena, basically it means that sometimes ghosts say things that people can't hear by themselves. What it comes down to is that we'll have an expensive tape recorder on the table."

"Don't these things usually happen later?" Sora asked, "Like at midnight or something?"

"Ya, but it's what," Axel glanced down at his wristwatch, "10:30? It's dark enough. The kind of séance they'll be doing doesn't really care about what time it is."

Half an hour later, the house was dark, the only light coming from five flickering candles set out on the table and the soft glow of a dimmed computer screen. Namine, Demyx, Axel, Sora, and Roxas had managed to crowd around the rather small table, Cloud, Leon, and Zexion sitting out on the sidelines. Zexion once again had his laptop balanced on his legs, watching the live feeds closely. It was possible that as the séance began, other parts of the house would begin to react and he wanted to be sure to see it.

The crown necklace was sitting in the very center of the table surrounded by the candles. Sora felt a little bereft without it; he had gotten so used to its comforting weight against his chest. Biting his lip, he squeezed Roxas's hand lightly, his brother having been seated next to him, both of them sitting across from Namine. Roxas gave a little pressure back, their elbows nearly touching as Roxas moved closer to him. Much to Roxas's horror, he had also been seated next to Axel, again. He was already mortified at the way his hand fit so snugly into the young man's larger one.

Their focus was drawn to Namine as the girl began to speak in verse. Sora tensed a little as the candles began to flicker as she got further into the summoning. They looked as if they were being blown by wind and yet the air was almost eerily still.

His breath caught in his throat as a chill began to fill the room, closing his eyes as Namine's soft voice carried on. The chill was a familiar one and he felt himself relax despite his growing uneasiness as he felt the sensation of someone coming up behind his chair. He opened his mouth to alert Namine but she beat him to it, her voice pausing mid chant, becoming almost conversational. "Riku, you're here in this room now, aren't you?"

Silence met her question, although Sora swore that Riku must have been saying something. He didn't know how he knew that but Namine appeared to pick up on the feeling as well because she asked another question. "Can you give us a sign so we know you're here? Could you move a candle or maybe shake the table?"

Sora shuddered as the room got colder and opened his eyes as Demyx shivered too, the young man speaking quietly, "How much energy is he planning to use?"

Sora was about to ask what he meant when the necklace on the table began to tremble, the chain links shuddering a little. He felt Roxas's fingers tighten their grip around his hand as it began to drag across the table toward them, toward Sora. Tilting her head to the side, Namine paused then let out a quiet hum. "I'm sorry Riku, we need the necklace right now, Sora can't have it yet."

The necklace stopped moving and there was a moment of quiet before the room suddenly returned to its normal temperature. Blinking, Namine straightened up a frown fluttering onto her lips, "He left so quickly…"

Breaking the circle of hands, Demyx lurched forward for the tape recorder, "I want to see what we caught on tape! Quick Zexy, load it up onto the computer!"

Axel leaned back into the chair, "I have to admit, that was a little disappointing. I was hoping for a full-bodied apparition or something but all we got was a little movement." He stretched then glanced over at Zexion as Leon turned the lights on, the artificial glow momentarily blinding everyone. "Do you have anything on the tape?"

Zexion frowned, connecting the tape recorder to the computer and tapping a few keys. As the file loaded into the audio program, Sora reached forward and picked the necklace up, making a small noise of surprise. "It's warm."

Nodding, Axel retained his unimpressed expression, "That's not surprising. Objects ghosts touch sometime become hot because of it. You can put it back on if you want."

Sora nodded and latched the necklace back around his neck, his gaze joining the other's as everyone looked over to Zexion. The man valiantly ignored everyone's stares, focusing on his work as it loaded. A minute of silence passed before he finally let out a low grunt. "Alright, it's ready."

"What are you waiting for? Play it already."

Rolling his eyes, Zexion nonetheless clicked the play button, turning the computer around so that the speakers were facing out into the room. It started off with a few crackles, the white noise filling the room before Namine's voice carried out fuzzily in the middle of her verses.

Behind her voice, another quieter one slowly became audible. Sora recognized it but it seemed even more distant than usual, stranger and more echoing than he had ever heard it before. "What are you doing…? Stop. He's listening."

"Riku, you're here in this room now, aren't you?"

There was a wavering sigh, "Yes, I'm here. You are fortunate it was only me. Sora, what's going on?"

Sora's chest tightened painfully at the pause that followed. He had let Riku down. He waited desperately for Riku to talk again, not caring about how everyone's eyes had drifted to him.

"Can you give us a sign so we know you're here? Could you move a candle or maybe shake the table?"

"The necklace is Sora's…"

There was a scraping noise as the necklace moved across the table, the noise amplified because the recorder had been right next to it.

"I'm sorry Riku, we need the necklace right now, Sora can't have it yet."

There was a tisking noise then a muffled word, possibly a curse, and the sound of shuffling. "Xemnas.,,"

There was a deeper voice, the growling tone sending a shiver down Sora's spine. It was Xemnas. "What have you told them…?"

"I've told them nothing."

"Be careful, boy, I know how to hurt you."

Silence followed, the white noise taking over again until Namine's soft voice came over the speakers again, "He left so quickly…"

Letting out a breath of air, Sora clasped his hands together as Zexion turned the playback off. He could only hope that Riku escaped before Xemnas was able to do anything to him. Scooting his chair back, Axel let out a long sigh. "Well, I have to admit, that was some of the best audio evidence I've ever heard in an investigation. Paired with the bit of interaction we managed to get during the séance, this proves two things; these guys are real, and despite the odds, both of them sound fully sentient and reactive to the actual environment around them."

Demyx frowned, "It's weird though…They were talking almost conversationally. Regular ghosts don't usually talk like that." Namine mirrored her brother's thoughtful frown, nodding along with him but remaining quiet. "Maybe they just have a lot of energy right now though…" Demyx's voice trailed off as he glanced over Axel's shoulder to his boyfriend. "What's the matter, Zexy?"

Glancing over, Sora saw a frown on the stoic young man's face, well, a deeper frown than he normally had. Zexion shook his head, "The camera in Roxas's room has been moved off its shot."

"What?"

Once again, Zexion turned the computer back around. "I set up the camera with Roxas's bed in the frame, but now…" The camera was pointed directly at the door instead, as if someone had bumped into it and switched the angle.

"I'll go fix it," Axel offered, standing up, Roxas hopping only one second behind him.

"You're not going into my room alone! Who knows what you'll do to it?"

Walking over to the base of the stairs, Axel winked to Roxas over his shoulder, "I know."

Growling, Roxas ran upstairs after him. Down in the dining room, Leon shook his head, "I really should arrest him…"

"Who, Axel?" Demyx laughed, waving his hand dismissively. "Don't worry about him. He likes getting on people's nerves. I guess Roxas is just a good target! Oh, look, there they are!" Axel and Roxas came on screen on the computer, Axel walking up to the camera, pulling out his cell phone as he got closer. Anticipating the call, Zexion pulled out his own, flipping it open on the first ring.

"Alright. Just turn it back to the bed…"

On screen, Axel nodded, his hand reaching forward and twisting the camera back to its original position. His face came into view and he spoke something into his phone, Zexion answering a moment later. "Yes, it's fine. Come back down." Axel nodded again and walked off screen. A second later though, everyone in the dining room watched as the camera slowly began to pan back to the bedroom door, following Axel's back. Roxas came into view, the teenager pointing at the camera and saying something hurriedly at the same time as Zexion called out into the phone. "Axel! The camera."

Stopping, Axel turned around, his face irritated. As he was walking back to the camera though, the live feed on the computer screen flickered, static spazzing through the image before it went completely black. Zexion's eyes narrowed but he remained clear-headed, "Axel, did you turn the camera off?"

The response must have been negative by the way Zexion glanced over to Demyx. Demyx shook his head, his voice urgent. "They should come back downstairs!"

Growling, Leon stood up, "This is ridiculous, I'm going to get them myself." He had only almost gotten out of the dining room when two shouts rang down from upstairs, urging Leon into a sprint. Cloud thundered after him, Demyx glancing over at Namine before following close on the other blonde's heels. Sora got up to follow them but Zexion grabbed his sleeve, tugging him back into his seat.

"You stay here."

"But Roxas is in trouble!"

Namine interceded quickly, "Sora, Roxas is going to be okay. Axel can protect him and Demyx can handle most things."

"I still want to make sure-!"

"Sora, sit." Zexion's unshakable command sent Sora back onto his chair. "You're obviously connected to these spirits more than anyone else in the house. The worst thing we could do would be to allow you to go where one of them is acting violently."

Sora frowned, his mind going back to when Xemnas had possessed Cloud. It had seemed like he had been singled out because of his friendship with Riku, but that didn't mean he was now the prime target, did it? He glanced over at Namine who was looking down at the table, her hands clasped into delicate fists; she was the stronger of the two witches, but she had stayed downstairs. With him. Maybe they were more worried about him then they let on.

Sensing his worry and perhaps wanting to ease the tension while they were stuck away from the action, Namine smiled a little. "At least everyone in your family is accepting of us coming here. Usually one person doesn't believe that the house is haunted at all."

Sora chuckled weakly, "Oh, so you haven't seen Leon then?"

"I've seen his type before." Zexion murmured. "They comprehend the situation more than they let on. He just doesn't want to admit the family is facing something he can't protect you from. It's the underlying horror that comes with a haunting; they can do damage to you but you can't hurt them back." He stopped his speech with a small grunt of approval, "The feed is back on."

Jerking around in his chair, Sora looked over to see that Roxas's usually immaculate room was now in a state of chaos. Clothes were strewn all over the furniture and floors, books knocked over from their shelves and the bed sheets basically torn from their place. Everything was scratched up, long claw marks marring the fabric and wood. Roxas and Axel were huddled against the wall and they watched as Cloud pulled the teen into his arms, hugging him tightly as Axel shakily straightened up. Demyx was leaning over the footboard, looking winded although he sent a thumbs up to the camera.

Namine gasped at the sight, looking up at the ceiling as if she could see straight into the second floor, "That couldn't have been done only by one entity."

Once he had come back downstairs, Demyx confirmed her suspicion, "It was so freaky, the room was full of shadow creatures! They had these glowing eyes and claws and were ripping everything apart!"

"Y-You don't need to sound so damn excited about it." Roxas snipped, trembling a little as he was wedged tightly between Cloud and Leon. "All my stuff's ruined!" Like Axel, he had a blanket wrapped around his shoulders; apparently the room had been freezing cold.

"You're lucky it was just your stuff! Those things were going for our freaking throats…" Axel muttered. Roxas huffed, burying himself further into his blanket, covering his face as a light pink dusted across his cheeks. Sora thought he knew the reason; from what he had seen, Axel had held him pretty tightly when those things were attacking.

A frown slipped onto Demyx's usually happy face, "He's right, they were dangerous. But, it doesn't make since. I mean, we read in Sora's notes that Xemnas was able to control shadows a bit, like when he pulled Riku through the wall, but ghosts shouldn't be able to command an army of demon things!"

"That's because he's not a ghost." Everyone looked over at Namine as she spoke up quietly. "Neither of them are. I'm not sure what they are but Xemnas seems too powerful, it's almost like he has become a demon himself. And Riku is giving off a different presence completely. I don't know how to explain it yet but I know for sure that this house is not normal at all."


	10. Chapter 9: Midnight Conversation

Hey guys! New chapter! Huzzah! I felt myself compelled to answer a few of the reviews (though all of them were well appreciated, I passed 100 reviews! Bwhahahahaha:D ) Anyway, Riku isn't really an angel, no matter how the title may try and convince you of that fact. It's more…metaphorical I suppose. That or I'm just sadistic and like to keep my reader's confused, either one. Also, I've never seen "Poltergeist". Truthfully, I've never seen any horror movies except for the Ring. Scarred me for life when I was younger. Which raises the question of how I would be able to write a supernatural/horror story…Hmm…thinking of that makes my head hurt…Oh well, on with the worshipful thanking! Thanks to all my reviewers, key46812, Jynxer120, Smiley Smackdown, Randomasdf, chibi heishi, Kuro neko, Airyn-chan, With a side of stereotype, Kanpa, bliss, Satsukifujin, Kira Sakura, PyschoB, roxy, DramaQueen1193, Twilight Emo Wind Goddess 801, Bella! You guys are totally awesome!

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4 June 2007

About half an hour had passed since the shadow creatures had appeared in Roxas's room. It was getting late, but everyone seemed hesitant to go to sleep. At least no one had mentioned going to bed yet. At the moment, they were crowded together in the parlor. Zexion was taking the time to look through Sora's notebook to try and gain anymore clues as to the nature of the haunting.

Axel slowly stretched, the movement almost feline, than looked over at Demyx and Namine. "All right you two, what's our next step? Obviously we're going to document the house all the way through to the morning, but I think this is going to take more than just the basics."

Frowning thoughtfully, Demyx tapped his chin, glancing over at Namine who nodded in silent confirmation before he spoke up. "Well…usually when we get such active spirits it's best to investigate them as much as we can, right? I think that we don't really know enough about either of them, or at least, what happened to them. You know, that made them become what they are now. It'd be really cool if we could trace what happened immediately afterwards, up to the burial. Assuming they were buried."

Axel turned to the Strife family with a wry smile. "He's beating around the bush. We want to check out the dead kid's grave site. And Xemnas's too, if someone actually took the time to throw him in the ground."

Sora felt himself pale a little. Riku's grave? That would be too creepy, he wasn't sure if he wanted to see his friend's name actually carved on a grave stone.

Shifting in his seat, Leon noted Sora's face before he asked, "And going to the graveyard would accomplish what…?"

"It would let us see if Riku is at all tied to his body." Namine's voice was quiet but as normal it seemed to quiet every one else down to the point that she could be easily heard. "We know Riku isn't a normal ghost, but we can't know what we have for certain until we investigate every aspect of his last few moments and that includes following what happened to his body…"

Sora looked down at his clasped hands, biting his lip. He wondered what Riku would have to say about that. If only the moonlight-haired ghost would come talk to him. He lifted his head up as he heard Axel's voice, the redhead leaning back into the couch. "In any case, there's not much you guys could do now. I'd suggest heading off to bed. With you asleep the ghosts might get comfortable and give us even more to record." He saw Leon start to frown and waved his hand. "Hey, don't worry. If anything looks like it's going to get out of control we'll come up guns blazing. Metaphorically of course."

Roxas scowled, crossing his arms, "Like hell I'm going back into my room."

"If you're scared I'd be willing to offer myself for any comforting needed." Axel's smirk quickly turned to a sheepish smile when Leon glared warningly. "Joking! Just joking…"

Eyes narrowing, Roxas stood up, "I was talking about staying with Sora. Come on, Sora, let's go to bed."

Sora blinked then nodded, standing up too. Seeing that they were actually moving upstairs, Cloud stood up, ruffling Sora's hair and pulling Roxas into a loose hug. "Do you want someone to walk you upstairs?"

Roxas frowned, looking like he was thinking about for a moment before he shook his head. Apparently dignity was more important to him than a bit of safety. "No, we'll be fine. It's not that far."

"Alright…If you're sure…" Roxas nodded and Cloud sighed. "Okay. We'll be coming up soon too. Goodnight."

Sora couldn't help but smile as Cloud leaned down to peck the top of his head. He would never get tired of that parental affection. "'Night, Cloud. 'Night, Leon."

Leon waved them off, the older brunette looking a bit overwhelmed again with all that was going on. Sympathetic, Sora let him be, instead following Roxas up the stairs. He was surprised when he felt Roxas slowing down in front of him, his little brother hesitating as they reached the second story. Smiling weakly, Sora nudged Roxas's back. "My room's not too far. Once we get there everything will be fine." Roxas nodded and together they hurriedly scurried to Sora's room. Closing the door behind them, Sora put his hands on his hips. "Okay! So, we can get changed, um…run to the bathroom, and then run back here as quickly as possible."

"Wow, way to be mature Sora…"

"Do you have a better idea?" Roxas remained silent and Sora nodded, "You can wear some of my pajamas today. Unless you want to go back to your bedroom." A grin spread over Sora's face and he leaned in, "I'm sure Axel would go with you!" He laughed as Roxas tried to punch him, dodging the blow as the blonde's face turned red.

"Shut up! Don't encourage him!"

Grinning, Sora stuck his tongue out at him, his hands reaching down to grab the hem of his shirt so that he could change. As he was pulling it up over his head, Roxas grabbed his arm, pointing as Sora lowered his shirt to pout questioningly. He followed Roxas's pointing finger, his face turning red as he saw that the camera was pointed right at him. Squeaking, Sora jerked his shirt back down, jumping out of the view of the camera. Roxas smirked then shook his head, pulling his own shirt off as they changed into their pajamas.

They managed to run to the bathroom without incident, though it was probably the fastest they had ever gotten ready. Leon and Cloud had passed the open bathroom door on their way to their own room, the two men lingering by the door for a few minutes as the boys finished up, Cloud's hand linked with Leon's.

Pushing the sheets back, Sora clambered into the bed, Roxas following, the blonde frowning but cuddling close despite himself. Smiling, Sora patted Roxas's hair, deciding not to mention anything about Roxas's need for contact.

Pretty soon, Roxas was asleep. He had nuzzled close against Sora in his sleep, it was his little brother's habit to cuddle into the nearest heat source. Though when he woke up he always denied it.

Sighing, Sora buried his face into familiar spikes. There was nothing better to do as he waited to fall asleep himself. A few minutes later though, he felt a cool wind brush against his cheek and rolled over, his eyes widening when he saw Riku sitting on the window bench, the ghost looking out the window. Detaching himself from Roxas, Sora sat up, smiling happily, trying to keep his excited voice quiet for Roxas's sake. "Riku! You came back!"

Riku glanced over at him, his face almost carefully blank. Frowning guiltily, Sora pursed his lips, his eyes falling down to the sheets covering his legs. "Um…Riku…I'm sorry. I don't, I don't want you to be mad at me."

"Why are those people here?"

Sora looked up at the soft question, thinking over the question for a moment before he slowly replied. "They…they just want to help us understand what's going on. I guess, I want to learn more about you, we want to help you figure out what happened. I just get sad whenever I think of you stuck here with Xemnas, I didn't really think about how you would feel about them coming over. Sorry…" He blinked as Riku stood up, his eyes flickering over to the camera before he shook his head. "Wait! Don't come over here!"

Riku paused, glancing warily around the room but, seeing nothing, tilted his head to the side, "Why?"

Sora smiled lightly, sliding out of the bed and padding over to the large window. "Because," he said, sitting down on the window seat, "If you don't like the people downstairs then you shouldn't get in range of that." He pointed at the camera.

Riku frowned, floating back over to Sora, "What is it?"

"Huh? You don't know what a camera is?"

"I have seen one before," Riku said, his back straightening almost defensively before he murmured, "I've just never known what it was."

Grinning, Sora leaned back against the window, the glass warm against his back as it absorbed the heat from the summer night outside. "It makes a movie of you. They're watching my bed from downstairs right now."

"Is their no such thing as privacy anymore?"

"Not when ghosts are involved!" Sora's smile fell as he looked over at the bed, "Roxas got really freaked out tonight. Xemnas attacked him in his bedroom and I couldn't even go and help him."

Riku's brows drew together and he leaned forward, "Sora, you mustn't get involved with Xemnas. They were right in keeping you away from him."

"I know, but why is everyone so worried about me?" Sora crossed his arms, pouting, "Everything seems to be getting worse. Everyone's getting scared, I'm being

overprotected, and you're mad at me!"

"I'm, not…mad at you."

Sora glanced over at Riku, his blue eyes hopeful, "You're not?"

"No." Riku sighed, the sound rippling quietly through the room as he ran a hand through his hair. Sora watched it fall back around the other's face with some awe. Riku's hair looked like nearly solid strands of moonlight, and Sora was disappointed every time he remembered he couldn't ran his fingers through it just to see what it felt like. Riku captured his attention again as the ghost pulled his thoughts together. "I suppose change…unnerves me. It unnerves Xemnas too but he just lashes out at it. I can't. I just have to let it happen. Lately, I guess I have just been…" he paused, closing his eyes before he sighed again. "I've been scared because I'm not sure what changes these new people will bring. I hate suffering under Xemnas's power, but it would be far worse if I was forced out of the house."

Sora shook his head quickly, "No, we're not trying to get rid of you, we would never do that! Maybe Xemnas but-"

"But what if I'm connected to Xemnas?" Riku asked, interrupting Sora mid-sentence. "What then? What if in order to have peace you will have to get rid of the both of us? What would you do? Because I know, if I was alive, I wouldn't want such things in my house, threatening you, threatening my family."

"I don't know what we'd do. I haven't thought of it because I know you're totally different then him." Sora smiled sheepishly, scratching the back of his head. "I'm just happy you're not mad at me! I thought for sure I had done something wrong!"

"Truthfully, I was a little angry with you…"

Sora's mouth fell open, "What? But you just said you weren't angry!"

"I was trying to be polite."

"So all that stuff you said was a lie."

Riku shrugged, a smirk dancing across his lips, "It was true too." He sat down onto the window seat. It threw Sora off a little when he didn't feel the cushion sink any before he remembered that Riku was actually weightless. "I only really became angry when I saw that you had taken that necklace off."

A red tint crept onto Sora's cheeks but he pushed it down, "Riku, during the séance…what did you mean when you said this was my necklace? It's yours."

Riku chuckled quietly, crossing his arms. "Well I can't really wear it myself, can I? Ergo I've regifted it to you. At least now it can be put to some use." His smirk grew, "Plus you wear it quite well."

Sora's attempt to reign in his blush failed at these words, pink spreading across his face. Pulling his legs up to his chest, Sora buried his face against them, peeking over his knees at the sound of Riku chuckling. Sora watched Riku laugh gently, his mind drifting. How could someone dead act so much like a normal person? He had always thought ghosts were supposed to be creepy, like Xemnas. Ghosts haunted old houses and graveyards and things, they weren't restricted to a single bedroom. Sora's eyes widened. Graveyards. "Riku, I've got something to tell you!"

Riku sobered at the quiet exclamation, "What is it?"

"The ghost investigators. They want to visit, um," he stumbled over the words, needing to look away from Riku's questioning face in order to get them out. "They want to visit your…grave. Is that okay?"

Riku was silent for a long moment, his face unreadable. After nearly two minutes, he shook his head. "I trust you, Sora. If you think it's a good idea, then I won't argue. Only, I don't want you at my grave. I don't want you to see my name on the headstone. And I don't want to see any photos of it when you return. It would make everything…much too real." He locked his light grey eyes with Sora's blue ones. "Promise me that and I'll give you my consent to go."

Sora nodded, "I promise, I won't look." Sora inwardly sighed with relief. Now at least he had an excuse not to look.

Nodding in return, Riku's eyes searched his face for a moment, as if looking for any trace of insincerity before he smiled softly. "You had better get to sleep. If your bed is truly being watched then the people downstairs have no doubt become suspicious by now."

Sora grinned, waving his hand as he stretched, "I'll just tell them I saw an owl in the tree outside or something." He covered a yawn then stood up. "Their names are Axel, Demyx, Zexion, and Namine by the way."

"Why would I want to know that?"

"You know their names now. So they're not strangers, are they?" Riku only blinked and Sora's grin widened, "They're actually really nice people. I bet you'd like them if you got to know them."

Rolling his eyes, Riku crossed his arms. "I'll think about it. Now go to sleep."

"You're going to stay here, right?"

"Do you want me to?"

Sora nodded sleepily, sliding back into bed. Riku smiled, "I suppose I don't really have anywhere to go…"

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The next morning Sora and Roxas woke up to the sound of someone rapping on the bedroom door. Sora rolled over with a groan as Leon's voice carried through the wood. "Boys, time to wake up. Breakfast is in ten minutes."

Roxas sat up with a grunt, his blond spikes going everywhere as he blinked sleepily. Looking down at Sora's curled up body, he frowned, prodding the other teen's side. "Get up."

"Mmno."

"You're so lazy. Get up. We have four college students in the house, do you really think breakfast is going to last long once it's set out?"

This got Sora out of bed, though he was stumbling on his first few steps over to his wardrobe. His eyes absently strayed over to the window seat, sighing lightly when he saw that it was empty. He knew he shouldn't have expected anything different though and pulled out some clothes for the day.

"Sora! You're changing in front of the camera again!"

Sora blinked, glancing at Roxas's exasperated expression then over to the camera. Indeed he was. Scooting over the few necessary feet to get out of the shot, Sora stripped off his pajamas, Roxas doing the same in the other corner of the room. Sora couldn't help but snicker after an inadvertent glance in his younger brother's direction. Apparently Roxas still wasn't going into his room, meaning that he was again wearing some of Sora's clothes. The size was almost right but…Roxas looked a little strange wearing a powder blue t-shirt and khaki shorts. It definitely wasn't the punk skater look he usually strove for.

Catching the snicker, Roxas glared defiantly, "Hey, it's not my fault you only have preppy clothes. Sometimes I can't believe we're even related."

"I don't know, you look pretty good in that polo."

"Shut up, Sora."

Hiding a smile behind his hand, Sora followed his glowering brother out of the room and down the stairs. Leon sent Roxas a strange look as he passed by with a plate of pancakes. "What happened to you? You almost look presentable today."

Growling, Roxas grabbed a plate and dropped down into his chair, snapping as Axel came into the room and set a hand on the back of his chair. "Touch me and die."

"Aren't you a little bundle of sunshine this morning…" Axel reached over him, spearing a pancake with a fork, "Besides, I didn't actually come in here for you, I wanted to talk to Sora about something."

Sora blinked innocently up at him as Cloud and Leon sat down at the table, "What about?"

"What was with the night-time wandering kid?"

Sora smiled up at him brightly, "Oh, that! I saw an owl outside and went to go say hi!" He held the smile, waiting for a response as he held his breath, hoping they would buy it.

Sighing, Cloud shook his head, "That sounds like Sora to me…"

Axel frowned, looking at Sora before shrugging. "Fine. Demyx sure is going to be disappointed though, he was bouncing in his seat when we were watching it last night."

"What?! It wasn't a ghost?" Popping up over Axel's shoulder, Demyx let out a whine, "Aw, but it was so totally the most interesting thing we caught all night!"

Leon tilted his head to the side, a cup of coffee clutched between his hands. "You didn't catch anything else?"

Axel sighed, "After all what happened in Roxy's-" He continued past Roxas's outburst to the little nickname as if he hadn't even heard it. "-room everything seemed to go pretty quiet. If you want an explanation it's probably that that little burst of entertainment we got sapped a lot of strength out of Xemnas. Even a strong ghost would have a hard time filling an entire room with shadow things."

"So what are you going to do now?"

Demyx piped up to answer Cloud's question, the younger man almost painfully upbeat for so early in the morning. Of course, he hadn't gotten any sleep, so maybe what they were seeing was just exhaustion manifesting itself as energy. "Zexy recognized Lexeaus's handwriting on some of Sora and Roxas's research, we're betting he helped you in the library, right?" The boys nodded and Demyx's grin widened, "Yay, we were right! Anyway, they've been friends for a long time, you know, because they both like libraries and books and things-"

"The point is that we're going to head off now and Zexion's going to go bury himself into the library until he and Lexeus are able to figure out where this Riku kid's buried. It'll probably take a few days so we'll call you once we know where we're going so that you can come check it out too if you want."

Roxas couldn't help but turn around in his seat. "You mean, you're leaving now?"

"Aww, are you gonna miss me?"

"You wish."

"You know I do." Axel grinned as Roxas glared up at him, his smile falling as he went back to talking about their job. "But ya, we're off for a few days. Give us a call if anything strange happens, okay?"

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8 June, 2007

Leon reached over for the phone as it started to ring, muting the news before picking it up. "Strife residence. Leon speaking."

_"Mr. Strife, sir, glad I caught you at home."_

"Axel?"

_"The one and only. Zexion's finally back from the library, luckily none worse for wear. He managed to find out that a certain Riku Miyuno was buried out in Radiant Garden Cemetery in 1882. The gang and I were wondering if you wouldn't like to come with us this evening for a look-around?"_

Leon pinched the bridge of his nose, closing his eyes before he sighed, "Sure, why not. What time?"

_"Six o'clock by the main gate. We'll be in the parking lot."_

"Okay. We'll be there."


	11. Chapter 10: Field Trips

Bwahahaha! It's official, I've finally devised how this story's going to end! :D

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I'm so proud of myself…although also slightly guilty that this update took so long…Anyway, to the reviews! I got so many again! Thanks! And don't worry, I have yet to read an offensive review, in my opinion they've all rocked so far! I'm glad you guys were able to take a fresh breath with that last chapter, after all, they can't all be heart-poundingly terrifying (lol, if they are at all. ). And ya, I enjoy writing scenes with protective dad Leon in them, they make me giggle. Thanks once again to all my reviewers: Kira Sakura, key46812, With a side of stereotype, chibi heishi, Smiley Smackdown, bliss, Jynxer120, Murd3r4lyf3, DramaQueen1193, TheOriginalBrokenDreamer, b9 iNe, Cowriter JAI, Twilight Emo Wind Goddess 801, PyschoB, Koneko Hoshi, Randomasdf, Kanpa! Woot!

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8 June 2007

Radiant Garden Cemetery was, in Sora's opinion, not that bad of a place considering that it was full of dead people. His class had taken a field trip there back in elementary school and they had all survived the trip. Some of the tombstones had actually been pretty cool looking, topped with statues and decorated with flowers.

It really was amazing how the dark could make everything look so much creepier. And it wasn't even dark yet, the sun was just barely setting when their car pulled into the cemetery's parking lot. Looking out the window at the darkening sky, Sora swallowed, twisting his seatbelt in his fingers.

"Sora, are you okay?"

Sora looked up to find Cloud gazing worriedly at him. Smiling weakly, he nodded, "Y-Ya! I'm fine."

"Alright. You and Roxas could always stay in the car if you want though. I can't imagine this will be all that exciting."

Sora and Roxas shared a look of concern at the thought of being stuck in the cemetery's parking lot. Not a fun thought. Shaking his head, Sora spoke up again, his voice more convincing this time. "No, really. I'm fine. Besides, we came all the way over here, might as well look around, right?"

Cloud nodded, his attention drawn away as Leon let out a quiet noise, his head twisting to the side as he spotted familiar faces crowding around a car they had just passed. "There they are. Hold on." Cloud instinctively braced himself as Leon's fingers tightened around the wheel. The car let out a squeal of protest as it was forced into a tight u-turn, Leon's skill behind the steering wheel of a patrol car almost too much for this car's poor machinery to take as it spun around. But it made it without falling apart and two seconds later they screeched to a halt in the parking space next to the other car. Letting out a quiet breath, Cloud shook his head, "And you say I drive bad…"

"That wasn't bad, it was efficient."

Sora jumped as someone knocked on the window beside him, turning to see Demyx outside waving cheerfully. Feeling a little heartened by the other's expression, he slid out of the backseat as Axel opened up the other back door, the older man dressed in a long black trench coat.

"Hey Roxie, long time no see. Did you miss me?"

"You were only gone for three days. I'm still cleaning up after the mess you made."

"Then you –were- thinking of me."

Roxas rolled his eyes, letting a smirk cross his lips as Leon got out of the car, the man's presence effectively shutting Axel up. He knew who he was going to stay next to for the rest of the trip. As Roxas went to attach himself to Leon, Demyx pulled Sora to the side. "So, Sora, anything cool happen while we were gone?"

"Um, no, not really." Sora glanced away, hoping the dying light would hide the slight blush on his face. For the last few nights Roxas had continued to sleep in bed with him, and Riku had continued to watch over them from the window seat. Sora had to admit that he liked the feeling of protection Riku's presence offered. He wasn't even worried that the ghost might get bored watching them sleep. Over the last three days it had become routine to wake up to find a book or two lying on the window seat. Sometimes they were school books, sometimes just regular novels. Yesterday there had even been a comic book in the stack. Sora shook his head at the memory, he would have to go to the bookstore and buy more sophisticated things for Riku to read during the night.

Demyx's worried voice broke through Sora's thoughts and pulled him back into reality. "Nothing creepy's happened, has it?"

"Oh! No. Everything's been quiet since you left actually." And tense. The air in the house had become almost still, as if the structure itself was holding its breath to see what was going to happen next.

Letting out a sigh of relief, Demyx slung an arm around Sora's shoulders. "Well that's a relief. I would have felt so bad if you had said yes. Now come on! Let's go inside the graveyard!" The flash of fear Sora had felt must have shown on his face because Demyx's smile widened. "Hey, don't worry! You're with us, nothing will happen, right Zexy?"

Zexion glanced up at his boyfriend as he flipped through a folder in his arms. "Actually we may have stirred up some spirit activity last time we investigated the location. If they recognize our presence, we may vary well act as a beacon. The chances that they have such cognitive abilities are slim, but, as we have seen, I have underestimated before."

Overhearing, Axel snorted. "Wow, Zexion, you sure do give the best pep talks." Zexion only rolled his eyes before returning to his paperwork as Axel turned to Sora. "But seriously kid, don't worry about it. Last time we were here, there was barely any activity, and that was only in one far corner of the park. So the place is full of dead people. They're dead; they can't even lift a finger."

Cloud frowned thoughtfully, "Actually some of them do move…" Sora covered his ears as Leon nodded knowingly. Sometimes it was bad to have both of your parents in fields of work that could involve dead people. Too many stories.

Stepping in to save the situation, Namine gently cleared her throat. "It would probably be best to find his grave before it gets too late. Zexion, do you have those photos you and Lexaeus found?"

Zexion reached into his folder and pulled out a few pieces of paper which he passed on to Namine. "Yes, and as you can see, this photo taken during the funeral shows the southern border of the graveyard in the background. That along with the information provided by the article should be sufficient guidance."

Sora frowned as curiosity washed over him. He wanted to look at the pictures but would that count as breaking his promise to Riku? Catching his gaze, Namine shuffled through a few of the copied images, pausing before holding one out for Sora. "Here. You can see what he is talking about in this picture. The coffin has already been closed so you can't see much of anything else." Sora looked down at the black and white image. People were gathered around a coffin at the top of a gently sloping grassy hill. A hole had already been dug and it looked like they were in the middle of saying their final prayers for the body. Sora's eyes strayed on the coffin. He could barely imagine that Riku was the one in it.

Before Sora knew it, they had entered the graveyard. It was about how he had remembered it. Tombstones were spread out in somewhat even rows, old twisting trees and bushes interrupting the flow every so often. Namine and Zexion led the group along the meandering gravel path, Zexion using photos and a map for reference, Namine walking along as if guided by some higher intuition. Roxas had hung back so that he was now walking beside his brother. Leaning over, the blond teen asked quietly, "So, Riku said you couldn't look at his grave?"

Sora nodded. He had told Roxas about his earlier conversation with Riku so the question wasn't unexpected. "Yep."

"So you're not going to even look at the tombstone?"

"Nope! I promised I wouldn't after all!"

Roxas eyed him for a moment then smirked. "When are you going to tell Cloud and Leon you have a crush on a dead guy?"

"Don't say it like that!" Sora made a face, "Ew, that just makes it sound creepy."

"So you do have a crush on him."

Sora blinked then blushed when he realized he hadn't even tried to deny Roxas's accusation. "I-I don't have a crush on him…!" He could feel the red in his face just about hit his ears as Roxas grinned, "He's just a friend! A really good friend! Who happens to be a little…very good looking…and transparent…" His voice trailed off with a miserable sigh as Roxas started to chuckle. Life sucked. His first real crush, and it had to be with a dead person.

Roxas glanced over at Sora's dejected face and sighed. So Sora really did like Riku. Roxas wasn't exactly sure how he felt about that. He knew Sora had never really liked anyone before, at least not in a possibly romantic way. But whatever he thought about it, he certainly wasn't going to let Sora go around moping about his little infatuation. He was trying to figure out a way to get Sora out of his depressed slump but Demyx beat him to it, the brown-haired teen lifting his head curiously as Demyx let out a shout of discovery. "Aha! I see it! Zexy, give me the photo, see, it's that hill right over there!"

Namine's pale eyebrows drew together worriedly as she lifted her hand in that direction as if to test the air. "That's where I'm sensing the most spiritual energy coming from…"

"Shit. I should have expected it." Axel frowned, putting his hands on his hips as he surveyed the scene.

Roxas mirrored the red-head's expression, only his contained a touch of confusion. "Should have expected what?"

"Remember when I said that the only activity we found came from one far corner of the park?" Roxas nodded. "Welcome to that one far corner of the park, kid." He shook his head then started walking forward. "There's nothing we can do about that now though, let's just get this over with."

The climb up the small hill wasn't strenuous at all yet Sora still found himself short of breath by the time they reached the top. The air had gotten colder, but he wasn't sure if that was from the setting sun or something worse. Rubbing his arms, he tried to dismiss the feeling, keeping his eyes to the ground as Axel spoke up. "Here it is. Riku Miyuno. Alright, Namine what do you think?"

The young college girl walked around the tombstone once. It looked like it was made of marble, a beautifully carved urn decorating the top. Undoubtedly Sephiroth had spared no expense on his son's burial. Resting her hand on the cool stone, a frown fluttered across her features. "It's…strange."

Demyx walked over to her. "What is it, Nami?"

"There is a dark energy surrounding his grave, but I can't feel anything from Riku's body."

"She can tell the difference?" Leon asked, his curiosity getting the better of his silence.

Axel nodded, eagerly answering, though perhaps too quickly by the way Leon's eyebrow lifted. "A lot of mediums can supposedly tell the difference. They say spirits leave individualized feelings, their own personal signature. She's already gotten a good reading of Riku back at the house so it makes since she'd be able to remember the impressions his spirit left." His face fell as he saw the girl step away from the grave, "Nami, what's wrong?"

Namine shook her head, her face a little green. "I don't like the feeling the other energy is giving off…It's not, it's not normal. It's like it's wrapped around the coffin and it's just, suffocating. I can't, I don't like it."

Worried, Demyx shushed Namine gently as she began to tremble, shooting Axel a look as he pulled her away from the grave. Cloud walked over to the blond siblings, taking over before he had to watch Namine faint. Leading them over to where Sora had sat down on the hill's slope, he gently pushed Namine down. "Alright, sit down next to Sora so you can catch your breath…"

Axel turned to Zexion once he saw that Namine was being properly taken care of, crossing his arms. "So what do you think?"

Zexion shrugged, "I think we should start digging."

"I hope you're not talking about exhuming the grave." Leon said, stepping into the conversation when he sensed it taking a turn for the illegal.

"We don't have much of a choice at this point." Axel glanced over at the older man, his green eyes sharp. "If you really want this thing out of your house, we need to know exactly what it is. There's obviously something up with this grave, and if we don't dig it up to take a look for ourselves, that's going to be a missed opportunity." He smirked, though it didn't detract from the seriousness of what he was saying. "Look, we're not exactly making you participate. We just need you to turn a blind eye."

Leon frowned, staring hard at Axel for a moment before shaking his head and turning his back to them. Taking that as a go-ahead, Axel grinned, "Great. Demyx, go get the shovels from the car."

"What? Why me?"

"You can grab some water for Namine too. Plus, Zexion can help you."

Zexion scowled as Demyx began walking down the hill but set down his folder and followed after his boyfriend. The only way to get Zexion to help with any of the physical labor was to get Demyx involved first. Surprisingly, it didn't take them long to get back. Demyx was carrying the two shovels, Zexion somehow managing to only carry the water bottle and a flashlight.

Dropping his load next to the grave, Demyx stretched, "Those were so heavy! And they were all buried under all of our stuff, it was almost impossible to dig them out!" Suddenly his eyes widened as he caught sight of something over Axel's shoulder and he darted behind Zexion as if to use the shorter man for a shield.

Turning around, Axel froze when he saw an old, very irate looking man stomping up the hill toward them, his fist already swinging threateningly. "Hey you kids, what the hell do you think you're doing with those shovels? You get outta my graveyard before I go get my gun and force you hooligans out!"

Axel put on his best customer-friendly grin, his mind struggling to come up with a quick, believable excuse. He was spared the trouble though when Leon stepped forward, reaching into his back pocket for his wallet. "You must be the groundskeeper of Radiant Gardens Cemetery."

"Damn right I am, who the hell are you?"

Leon opened his wallet, flashing his police badge. "My name is Sergeant Leon Strife. I'm sorry that we weren't able to get into contact with you earlier but we have recently stumbled across an old cold case in our records. It has come to our attention that the death of a Mr. Riku Miyuno needs further investigation so we took it upon ourselves to take immediate action with an exhumation."

The groundskeeper eyed the badge carefully then snorted, "No one tells me nothing anymore."

Leon smiled thinly, "Well this case is still confidential, so we would appreciate your cooperation and your understanding that we need to keep this exhumation quiet."

The old man perked up at the idea of being part of something secret and smiled widely at Leon, "Ah, I get it, undercover police work, right? Well then, I'll just go on back home and let you keep working. Or rather, not working, I didn't see nothing."

Leon thanked him, keeping his smile until the man was out of sight before turning to Axel with a scowl. "Get digging." Axel didn't need to be told twice. Stripping off his jacket, he picked up a shovel, throwing one to Demyx as the two of them got to work. Dropping down next to Cloud, Leon buried his head in his hands as he muttered low, "I can't believe I just did that."

Cloud just patted his shoulder sympathetically, at the same time making sure that Namine was recovering as best he could. On the girl's other side, Sora plucked at the grass on the slope, glancing over as Roxas sat down beside him. Roxas lifted an eyebrow at the questioning look. "What? I'm not helping dig anything up."

The thought of unburying Riku made Sora's stomach churn. He did not want to see any decomposing corpse. Especially not Riku's. The very thought made him ill. Wrapping his arms around his knees, he watched the rest of the sun slip behind the trees that framed the graveyard, the world slowly turning dark as Axel and Demyx kept digging.

After half and hour Zexion been forced to turn on the flashlight, washing the area with unnatural white light, the pit in front of Riku's grave marker looking more like an archeological dig than anything else. Five feet down and an hour and a half after they had started digging, Axel let out a victorious laugh as his shovel hit something solid. "Finally! Demyx, help me find the edges."

Nodding, Demyx threw himself eagerly back into his digging and in a few minutes the two of them had uncovered the complete top of the coffin. It was a dark wood, the edges lined by what looked like bronze. An insignia had been carved into the center of the top. Once Zexion had gotten down into the pit with them, he had been able to identify it as the Miyuno family crest, at least the one that Sephiroth had used.

A frown made its way onto Axel's lips as he ran his hands along the edges of the coffin, trying to feel for a crease but feeling nothing but the rim of metal and another crest on one side. "How the hell do you get into this thing?"

Pushing the red head aside, Zexion stooped down to examine the construction. "Hm, it definitely matches the photo image. As for getting into it, it's fairly simple. The crest on the side isn't metal, just wood. It acts as a marker, showing that it has remained closed since the casket was closed because the only way to get past it is to break it."

"Well that's easy." Taking a step back, Axel grabbed his shovel and dug the head into the crest, smirking as it snapped in half. With a twist, he wedged the shovel into the now visible crack between the base and lid of the casket before glancing over at Demyx and Zexion. "This could be nasty. Are you guys ready?"

Demyx nodded, grabbing onto Zexion's sleeve as Axel used the shovel as a make-shift lever. With a complaining groan, the lid slowly lifted away from the base, only an inch open when a horrible stench filled the pit. Gagging, Axel resisted the urge to cover his face, both his hands occupied as Demyx and Zexion let out various noises of disgust. Apparently the smell quickly escaped into the more open air because Roxas came over a minute later, his nose and mouth buried in his sleeve as he sent a venomous glare in Axel's direction. "What the hell did you do? Hit a sewage pipe?"

Axel shook his head, making a face as he was forced to open his mouth to answer, "No, it's just the body I guess."

With a grunt, he tossed the lid open all the way only to freeze in shock a moment later.

The casket was empty.

The padding was still as white as it ever had been. There was no sign that a body had ever been in there. Muttering to himself through the fabric of his turtleneck sweater that he had pulled over his mouth to keep away the stench, Zexion flipped open his folder, fingers leafing through the paperwork at lightening speed before he pulled out a copy of an old photo.

It showed Riku lying in the coffin. The photo caption said that it had been taken during the funeral. Axel frowned, leaning on the shovel and trying to get over the smell of rotting flesh that had soaked the air. "What the hell happened to the body?"

Demyx shook his head, his face pale. "This isn't good. His body disappeared from the coffin. That must have been the dark energy Nami was talking about!"

"There has to be something here that will help explain things…" Frowning, Axel leaned down to examine the casket only to be yanked away by Demyx.

"Don't touch it, Axel!"

"Why not-hey!" Axel jumped as a pile of earth fell on the back of his neck. Frowning, he glanced up at Roxas as he shook clods of dirt off his jacket. "Hey Roxie, I know I'm not exactly your favorite person right now, but that's no reason to kick dirt on me."

Roxas frowned, toes just at the edge of the pit. "I didn't kick any dirt."

Standing down inside the pit, Axel only heard Namine's warning cry and a pair of glowing eyes over Roxas's shoulder before the young teen was suddenly shoved forward. Lurching forward, Axel was just able to catch him before he fell into the open casket, instinctively grabbing the small blond close as he saw familiar black shadows beginning to crawl out of it. They were the same shadows from Roxas's room. Xemnas's minions.

"Everybody out of the pit!" He shouted, shoving Roxas up and out of the five foot deep hole before scrambling out himself, Demyx and Zexion right beside him. The others had run over when Roxas had fallen in and Axel shoved them forward. "Run!"

No one needed to be told twice as those shadow creatures began crawling out of the pit, swarming toward the fleeing group. Looking over his shoulder at the approaching shadows, Axel called over to Demyx, "I don't suppose you can slow them down?!"

"Nothing I can do while running!" The blond shouted back.

Axel frowned then grinned, "I have an idea! But we need to survive long enough to get to the car!"

Running next to Roxas, Sora could feel the freezing cold coming from the creatures chasing him. It was almost like they were already breathing against his neck. He let out a sudden yelp as something caught around his ankle and sent him crashing to the ground, turning over to see a pair of glowing eyes staring up at him, the thing's claws wrapped around his ankle. Too scared to scream, he only let out a squeak of surprise as he suddenly felt himself ripped away from the thing's grip, barely feeling the thing digging its claws into his skin before he found himself in Leon's arms.

He could only cling on as Leon ran, looking around wildly before seeing that Cloud had a firm hold on Roxas's wrist as they navigated their way around the tombstones and trees. Soon though, the blond pair disappeared out of his line of sight, cut off by a small thicket of trees.

Suddenly Leon stopped, Sora feeling his grip tightening around him as his father cursed before quickly changing directions. It wasn't until he was thrown out of Leon's arms that he realized the two of them were surrounded. Growling, Leon kicked out at the thing that had tipped him, running over to where Sora was picking himself off of the ground. Instinctively he reached down to his belt for his gun. He hadn't brought it with him. It wouldn't have done any good anyway.

The black things had them surrounded. Swallowing, Sora latched onto Leon's arm. Leon pulled him closer but even Sora knew he wouldn't be able to protect him. If the black things got them, what would happen to them? Would they become like Riku? Sora closed his eyes and buried his face into Leon's shirt. He didn't want to see this.

"Get down!"

Sora's eyes snapped open as Leon threw both of them to the ground, staring up as a glowing column of fire burst over their heads. Twisting his neck, he saw Axel through the shifting mass of black, the red-head holding up his lighter to an aerosol spray can, the result a massive burning flame. The black shadows hissed and shrieked as the fire hit them, melting into the darkness as Axel pushed his way through into the center to where they were.

"Leon! Sora!" Sora gasped as Cloud appeared beside Axel, the blond man running over to them as soon as Axel had cleared a path. He grabbed onto Leon's arm, dragging both him and Sora up and off the ground. "Come on! We need to go while they're distracted!"

Bursting into another run, Axel right behind them ready to beat back any approaching shadow with a quick burst of fire, they sprinted for the parking lot. Between pants, Cloud gasped out. "We got back… to the car…but you were gone…Axel and I…came back to look…the other's are ready to go!"

Their shoes crunched against the concrete of the parking lot as they finally made it out of the cemetery. The black shadow creatures were right on their heels but were suddenly stopped as if by an invisible barrier at the cemetery fence. Coughing as he tried to fill his lungs with air, Axel let out a sharp laugh of relief. "They can't leave the cemetery! Thank God! I just ran out of fuel in this stupid can!"

Leon shook his head, stumbling over to his car as he pulled out his keys. "We're getting out of here. When we get home you can tell us what the hell happened."


	12. Chapter 11: Need for Contact

Eh heh, what happened to Riku's body?! Freaky. But I love seeing that you guys are so into the story, it just makes a person want to totally forget about finals and write fanfiction instead. Not that I'm doing that…ahem…on with the story, ya? Thanks to all my reviewers! yasu-yasu, earth2water1element, Randomasdf, Kaida Shade, Jynxer120, Murd3r4lyf3, Twilight Emo Wind Goddess 801, Smiley Smackdown, b9 iNe, chibi heishi, Kanpa, key46812, bliss, vamprincessmiyu, DramaQueen1193, Misz Lovely x0x, Miah The Storm Wolf, ZSAngel. You guys are awesome like always! Keep on reviewing and I might even get inspired to write up an epilogue! Not that I'm thinking about that yet, but you know, just thinking toward the future…

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8 June 2007

As it turned out, Leon would have to wait a little longer to learn what had happened at the graveyard. All of the dark energy in the graveyard and the following chase had drained Namine and so the ghost team was making a side trip to her and Demyx's apartment to drop her off so that she could rest.

When they got back home to their own house, Cloud ushered Sora into the kitchen so that he could clean up the blood on the teen's ankle. Sitting up on the counter, Sora let his feet dangle over the edge as Cloud dragged a chair over. Looking at the deep scratches, Cloud let out a worried sigh and began to unscrew a bottle of antiseptic. "Let's just hope that there was nothing infectious in these cuts. Does it hurt very badly?"

Sora bit his lip then shook his head, "No, actually it's kind of cold…"

"Well I shouldn't have expected it to be normal. Now hold still, this will probably sting."

Sora couldn't help but let out a sharp gasp as the antiseptic hit his wound, gripping the lip of the counter to fight back the sting. Cloud murmured a low, comforting noise but continued to clean out the wound, trying to make the process as quick as possible. Wincing but keeping in a small whimper, Sora looked down at Cloud worriedly. "Cloud, do you know if Leon's okay? One of those things tripped him so he might have gotten hurt too."

Cloud glanced up at him, a frown flitting across his lips before being replaced with a smile. "He hasn't told me about anything, but I'll make sure that he's okay. Don't worry."

Nodding, Sora bit his lip as Cloud began to wrap his ankle. Another good thing about having a nurse for a father was that there was a chance of having a large amount of medical supplies somewhere around the house. Once Cloud had finished the wrapping he patted Sora's leg. "Alright. I think you'll live. Now, why don't you go upstairs to see what Roxas is up to while I go check to make sure Leon isn't silently bleeding out somewhere?"

Sora grinned, the expression straining a bit as he slid off of the counter and put weight on his ankle. It wasn't an unbearable pain by any means though and so Sora managed to climb up the stairs where Roxas had gone. The house had remained quiet since they had come home, though still just as tense as when they had left it that afternoon. The air seemed to almost be pressurized as Sora reached the second story, it was almost as if Xemnas's control over the house was becoming tangible. With a shudder, Sora shook off the dark feeling, reaching his room to find Roxas pulling his shirt off. "Um, Roxas, what are you doing?"

"What does it look like I'm doing? I'm taking a shower."

"A shower? Do you want me to come with you or-"

"No!" Rolling his eyes, Roxas kicked off his shoes, "I'm fourteen, I can take a shower by myself Sora. And don't tell me I don't need one. We were tripping over tombstones and I'm covered in dirt. Plus if I don't get one in now, I'd have to wait until Axel left and I'm already tired."

Sora bit his lip, watching as Roxas wrapped a towel around his waist. "Okay but if anything happens…"

Roxas rolled his eyes. "I'll be sure to let you know. Thanks for trying to make me paranoid." The blond paused at the door, his eyes darkening a little as he glanced down at Sora's bandaged leg, "How's your ankle?"

"Oh, it's fine. Cloud took care of it." Sora tilted his head to the side as he caught a touch of guilt in Roxas's eyes and his voice softened. "It's fine, really."

Roxas frowned but nodded after a moment, "Fine. Let me know if that pedophile shows up while I'm in the bathroom, okay?"

Sora nodded and watched as Roxas left the room before looking over at his desk. Now, what should he do? He could do some homework, but that would just be depressing to do on Friday night. He could go downstairs to watch TV, but then he would be further away from Roxas and he wanted to be nearby his brother in case something happed. Biting his lip, he looked out the window. The sun had just set recently and Riku didn't usually appear until at the earliest eleven. Sora wasn't sure if ghosts had rules about when they came out at night but what he really wanted to do was see Riku.

Pursing his lips, he moved over to sit on the edge of the bed before calling out gently, "Riku? Can you come out? I want to tell you how everything went…"

There was a familiar chilling sensation before Riku stepped out from the wall beside the bed, the ghost shaking himself off before looking over at Sora with a stern expression. "You shouldn't call me so freely. Not while Xemnas is so strong."

"But we went to the cemetery-"

"Your leg, what happened to it?" Sora blinked, surprised as Riku had suddenly rushed forward, the ghost bending down to look at the wound. 

Sora flushed a little, scooting back on the bed. "Um, when we were at your grave some of Xemnas's shadows showed up. One of them tripped me and scratched me a bit…"

"Does it hurt?"

"It's a little sore, but that's probably because Cloud just cleaned it up." He let out a small squeak as Riku's brows furrowed; the ghost's hands moving down to cup Sora's ankle. The ghost's touch was freezing, his transparent hands not actually resting on Sora's skin but rather hovering. The care behind the action was apparent enough and the cold felt good, numbing the pain away. Feeling blood rush to his face at an embarrassingly fast rate, Sora tried not to squirm, finding it almost hard to breathe as Riku's elegant face turned up toward him.

"How does that feel?"

"G-Good."

Riku nodded, his eyes traveling down to the ankle. "Do you know what Xemnas's shadows were doing near my grave?"

"No. Well, Axel and the guys might, but they won't be here for a few more minutes…Um, would you know why your body might be missing?"

"My body was missing?" Riku blinked then frowned, "Hold on a moment, you opened my casket?"

Sora's eyes widened at the other's possible anger. "I didn't look, I promise! But they had to look because they felt a dark presence and they wanted to see what had happened to you but your body was gone!" Taking a deep breath, Sora clenched his fists into his lap, "I'm sorry if you're mad but they really thought it would be a good idea at the time."

"I'm not mad…"

Sora let out a sigh of relief, "I hope not…Do you know what happened to your body though?"

Riku shook his head, closing his eyes for a moment. "No, I don't. The last thing I remember is fainting in my father's arms after…after I had been shot." One of his hands left Sora's ankle to move up to his chest, absently rubbing the spot where a silvery stain had soaked the shirt around a bullet hole. "I don't remember anything that happened to my body, the next time I came to my senses, I was here in my bedroom, in this state. I only assumed that my father had taken proper care of it but if Xemnas was involved somehow…" He paused then shook his head, "I do not understand how that would be possible though, he died at the same time as me. Perhaps I missed something during those last moments."

"I'm sure they'll figure out what happened to you!" Sora's optimistic voice brought Riku's gaze back up to his face. The ghost let out a small sigh, looking like he was about to say something when a knock from the front door echoed up to the second story. Although inwardly a little sorry that their private conversation had to end, Sora smiled. "I bet that's them!"

Riku nodded then made Sora's breath stop in his throat when he leaned down and brushed his lips over Sora's ankle. Smirking up at the bright-red Sora, Riku slowly pulled away. "Well thank you for taking such an interest."

Struggling for words but hearing little other than his pounding heart, Sora managed to stutter out, "I-It's no trouble!" His ankle was tingling from the supernatural touch as he stood up, glancing over at Riku who had drifted over to the window. "I-I'm just going to go, um, go downstairs now, okay?"

Riku nodded, still smirking as he sent Sora a small wave as the teen left the room. 

Trying to smother the blush that was burning on his cheeks, Sora walked over to the stairs, brightening when he spotted Axel, Demyx, and Zexion in his front entry-way. Leaning over the railing, he waved down to them, "Hi! Is Namine going to be okay?"

Demyx nodded, "She'll be fine. Now it's time for a group meeting! Is Roxas upstairs with you?"

"Ya, he's-" Sora froze. Roxas was going to kill him. "Um, I'll get him."

Walking quickly over to the bathroom, Sora pressed his ear against the door, hearing the shower going and Roxas's muffled voice coming from behind the wood. Sora rapped on the door, "Roxas? They're here! Hurry up and finish!"

Hearing no sounds the Roxas had acknowledged his presence, Sora frowned, about to go tell the other's to start without them when an amused voice hit his ear. "Hey, what's taking you so long up here?"

Squeaking, Sora twisted around only to see Axel standing behind him. Putting a hand on his chest to try and calm his pounding chest, Sora pouted up at the red head. "You scared me! And it's not me! Roxas needs to finish taking a shower so you should go back downstairs!"

Instead of going downstairs though, Axel smirked and knocked on the bathroom door as Sora winced. "Hey, Roxie! Come on out! What, is he ignoring me or something?" Getting no response, Axel pressed his ear against the door as Sora shook his head.

"No, he's probably just singing. He probably can't hear us."

Axel's smirk spread as he caught Roxas's voice, "That kid's got himself a pair of lungs! Making me fall in love with him all over again!"

Shaking his head at the other's teasing tone; Sora pushed him away from the door toward the stairs as he heard the water shut off. "Go downstairs! We'll come down once he's dressed."

"What, you're not going to let me have any fun?"

"I'm his big brother, of course not! Plus he would kill me if he knew I let you up here…" Sora muttered under his breath, crossing his arms as he watched Axel go back down the stairs. Not a second later, Roxas came out of the bathroom, his towel wrapped tightly around his waist, his blond spikes limp from the weight of the water. Grinning at him, Sora quickly ushered him to the bedroom. "Okay, they're here so you should go get dressed then we can go downstairs."

"They're here?! Why didn't you tell me?"

"I tried! You know you never hear me though." Sora pouted as he followed Roxas into their bedroom. Riku was nowhere to be seen, perhaps he had disappeared after he realized Roxas would be coming in to change. 

Roxas changed quickly, and in no time they had made it downstairs to the parlor where everyone else had gathered. Leon looked none the worse for wear, although Cloud was sitting close to him, meaning that the blond was still worried about his husband's health. Leon had the bad habit of hiding any aches or pains, so they could never be certain that the man was telling the truth when he said that he was okay. 

When he spotted Roxas, Axel smirked, leaning back in his armchair. "Hey Roxie, never knew you had such a boy band voice!"

Roxas flushed bright red and sputtered before pointing at the college student, "You…you will tell no one of what you heard."

"No, I mean it, you have a great singing voice."

Roxas's eyes narrowed and sensing that his adopted son was becoming homicidal, Cloud patted the seat beside him. As Roxas silently stalked over, Sora leaned over Axel's shoulder, murmuring quietly so that Roxas couldn't hear. "Roxas doesn't like his singing voice. He's more into the emo-punk, you know?"

Axel chuckled but switched topics. "We were talking to Namine on the way back to their apartment. I have to admit, none of us really know what's going on, this case has gone above and beyond any other thing we investigated before."

Nodding, Demyx continued where Axel left off. "The best we can guess is that Xemnas somehow used Riku's body in some dark magic." He sighed, leaning his chin on his hand, "There have been cases where if a body was used for dark rituals, it would decompose at a decelerated rate. Some curses also have been known to completely consume the victim's body. But whatever Xemnas managed to do before he died bound Riku's soul to this house. Then when Xemnas died, it seems that his malevolent spirit became the dominant force, probably because he was so evil while he was alive."

"So, how are we supposed to get rid of Xemnas?" Roxas asked.

Axel glanced over at Demyx, his voice uncharacteristically hesitant. "There are a few Wiccan ceremonies Demyx and Nami know that might be able to work. That could be getting us into more trouble than we would be able to handle though, and I'd rather not lose anyone in the group to paranormal mishap. It'll take a while to get a real professional to your house though, but if you really want to get rid of him, that's probably what it's going to take."

"The only question would be rather or not you would be able to live in this house until they came." Zexion murmured.

Rubbing his temples, Leon leaned forward on the couch. "I don't think we have much of a choice at this point. We need this thing out of our house, so we'll have to be willing to wait."

"Alright." Axel reached into his pocket and pulled out a scrap of paper and a pen, "I'm going to leave you with my cell phone number. We'll visit every few days to make sure things stay safe here but you can go ahead and call for any emergency situations and we'll be here as quick as we can." Scribbling a few numbers down onto the paper, he handed it to Sora. "Before we go, Demyx can put up a few charms around your bedrooms to keep anything supernatural out."

Cloud tilted his head to the side, "Why can't you just do that for the entire house"

"It would be hard," Demyx explained, "Xemnas seems to be ingrained so much into the house I'm not sure that we would be able to separate him from the structure." His face brightened, "But the charms should help for your bedrooms! You'll be able to sleep without any worry about seeing any ghosts!"

Shuffling his feet, Sora looked down at the ground. "Um, actually, you don't need to do anything to my room." Noticing that everyone was looking at him, he smiled sheepishly. "It's the only place Riku can hang out. I wouldn't want to ruin that for him. Besides, he hasn't done anything bad yet and he's actually really fun to talk to!"

Roxas rolled his eyes from across the room. His brother was so obvious. 

"Sora, I think it might be best just to take the proper precautions…" Leon said. Sora swallowed, shrinking a little under his father's intense gaze. He hated that soul-searching stare, it always made him want to blurt out the truth. He looked up as Leon spoke up again. "But you're old enough to make your own choices. Do what you want."

Sora bit his lip. Leon knew, or at least suspected that he liked Riku. Which meant that Cloud had probably already figured it out. Trying not to let his embarrassment show, he smiled lightly, "Thanks. I think I'll pass on the charm though."

Demyx shrugged. "Alright. I should probably set up the other two rooms though. Do you have any salt in the house?"

Cloud nodded, "We should have some out on the kitchen counter…"

"Yay! This will be quick and easy then!"

Seeing the family's confusion, Axel shrugged. "Salt on the thresholds of rooms keeps evil spirits out. You'd have to ask Demyx or Namine for a full explanation but I've seen it work to have full confidence in it. Just make sure to step over the line instead of kicking it all over the place."

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13 June 2007

A few days had passed since the trip to the graveyard. After they had left, Axel had called the next morning saying that professional help would arrive in two weeks. The house had stayed quiet for the most part, though Sora suspected that things were going to be acting up soon. The footsteps had started up again but even worse than that was the scratching.

Every night the walls echoed with hundreds of scratching things. Roxas had gone back to his own room and apparently Sora's room was the only one being affected because his little brother hadn't mentioned strange sounds. 

Lying in bed, Sora let out a particularly frightened squeak as something scratched right behind his head, scrambling to the middle of his bed, burying his face in his pillow. A second later, he felt a familiar presence sitting beside him and lifted his head to find Riku sitting next to him. Pouting, he hugged his pillow to his chest, "I'm tired of not being able to sleep…"

Riku frowned, his eyebrows drawing together as he looked at the wall then back at Sora. "I wish I could stop Xemnas from bothering you so much. I hate that he seems to be targeting you in particular."

"D-Don't wory, I, I can handle it!" Sora stuttered, curling up more as the scratching only seemed to get louder after hearing his claim. The truth was that the sounds were terrifying him, but Riku wouldn't be able to do anything about it, so he didn't want to bother the ghost with his stupid fear. He also didn't want to admit that what he really wanted was to hide against Riku, but that was impossible too. He gasped as the scratching started on the ceiling over his head. Maybe he could sleep in Roxas's room for the night.

Getting off the bed, Sora ran over to the bedroom door, opening the door as Riku let out a warning shout. "Wait, Sora, don't-"

As soon as the door had opened a crack, it burst open, Xemnas's shadows crawling on the other side, filling the doorframe. Shrieking, Sora fell back, eyes wide as Riku ran over beside him, the ghost waving toward the door and slamming the door shut again. "Sora! Are you okay?"

"Y-Ya…"

Riku let out a sigh of relief, crouching down next to Sora. "I was trying to tell you. It is no longer safe to leave the room during the night. Xemnas owns the rest of the house and right now he is drawing up all of his power. Please, promise me you won't leave."

"Alright. I promise."


	13. Chapter 12: Testing Love

Woah! I got a lot of reviews for that last chapter! Either I wrote something particularly exciting, or my subtle beg/bribe worked. Cool either way! Thanks to all my reviewers: Kanpa, chibi heishi, Murd3r4lyf3, vamprincessmiyu, Smiley Smackdown, Misz Lovely x0x, b9 iNe, Jynxer120, Aoi Para, Satsukifujin, key46812, NightmareFairy, bliss, With a side of stereotype, PyschoB, Kiyomisa, Miah The Storm Wolf, Randomasdf, Scootkadoot! You guys hit the high score in reviewing! 20 for one chapter! Woot! You dudes are awesome!

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14 June 2007

Nighttime was becoming a routinely terrifying point in the day for Sora. It seemed as though Xemnas now knew that they were figuring things out, and was taking his anger out on the teen. Sora tried to keep everything quiet from the rest of his family. He didn't want to bother them with something that they wouldn't be able to stop.

Riku was clearly getting frustrated of the entire thing on Sora's behalf. The only thing the ghost was able to do was to sit with Sora during the long nights, trying to distract the teen from whatever the shadows were up to. He would have Sora talk about whatever came to his mind; his family, friends, world news, anything that could keep the boy talking. In turn, he would share stories from the past, which to his amusement always seemed to captivate Sora.

Sora did his best to relax, but he has still only been able to get two or three hours of sleep each night during the past week. Luckily, summer vacation had begun and sleeping in was an option. Sora wasn't very fond of the idea of sleeping in all day though, and so tried his best to get some sleep while it was dark out.

Night had fallen again and Sora found himself curled up under his covers, arms wrapped around his legs as he sat in the center of the bed. So far, he hadn't heard or seen anything out the ordinary except for Riku's appearance, which was beginning to worry him a bit. Riku looked a little suspicious as well, but bore it with the typical dignified grace that Sora had come to admire. Sitting down onto the bed beside Sora, Riku glanced over at the other. "Do you think you might be able to get some rest tonight?"

"Maybe," Sora smiled weakly. "I'll try."

Riku nodded, motioning for Sora to scoot back. "Alright, lay down and close your eyes."

Smothering a giggle, Sora obeyed, cuddling down into his sheets. It was warm under the covers, contrasting to the cold air Riku always had around him and immediately making Sora sleepy. Closing his eyes, he felt himself falling asleep when he heard a muffled sound coming from the hall.

Frowning, he tried to ignore it. Riku let out a wavering sigh, "Just try to fall asleep. Hopefully he will stay quiet for a while longer." Sora tried, but couldn't help but start when a loud thud hit the outside of his bedroom door. It sounded as if someone had hit it full-on with their body. Sora couldn't help but gasp as a panicked voice cut through the silence. "Sora! Sora, come out here quickly! Please!"

It was Roxas. Scrambling out of bed, Sora ran to the door only to find Riku in the way, the ghost's arms outstretched and blocking the door. Riku's eyes were narrowed and he shook his head. "Don't go into the hall, Sora."

Sora gaped up at him for a moment before his heart leapt to his throat as outside in the hall Roxas let out another cry, more desperate than before. "Help! Let me in, Sora!"

"Don't invite him in. If you give him your permission to come in I won't be able to help you!"

"What are you talking about? Move, Riku!" When the ghost failed to budge, Sora let out a cry of frustration, sweat beginning to collect on his forehead at the thought of his little brother being in danger. "It's not Xemnas, it's Roxas!"

Riku shook his head again. "That is not your brother Sora. I can sense your brother in his room, just on the other side of the wall. What you hear is only Xemnas's imitation, him trying to lure you out or to let him in." Seeing Sora tremble as another cry for help came from behind the door, Riku's eyebrows drew together. "Please, Sora. Trust me. I would not let anything bad happen to Roxas. You have to trust me."

Sora shuddered then nodded, slipping down to the floor. "I-I do, I do trust you…" He shook his head as Roxas's voice cried out in pain, digging his fingers into his brown spikes. Tears trailed down his cheeks as he whispered. "I can't stand take listening to that though. It's not fair, he shouldn't be able to do that!"

Sinking down beside him, Riku nodded. "I know…" Sora only felt like crying harder at the understanding sympathy in Riku's voice. Of course Riku would know how unfair the situation was. He had been existing under Xemnas's power for more than a hundred years. Sniffing, Sora rubbed his eyes, blinking them back open when he felt cold rush around him only to find that Riku had his arms wrapped around him.

"W-What are you doing?"

Riku smiled softly. "In my day, we called it a hug. Have things changed so much?"

Blushing, Sora shook his head. "No, but…" His flush grew until the red was touching his ears.

"You looked as though you needed one, and I'm sorry to say it but it was the only thing I could think of. Was I being presumptuous?"

Sora shook his head, burying his head into his hands as another cry came from the other side of the door. What at first sounded like Roxas turned into an inhuman snarl of anger, the noise making Riku break the hug and motion for Sora to scoot back. Sora quickly complied, squeaking as again something banged on the door. Scowling, Riku stood in front of Sora as the banging continued, the ghostly teen shouting at the door. "You can't come in, he won't allow it and neither will I!"

At those words, the banging stopped. After a full five minutes of silence, Riku visibly relaxed, his arms falling to his sides as he glanced back at Sora. "I think you are safe for the rest of the night. The worst seems to be over for now."

Sora climbed into his bed and burrowed under his covers before he smiled shakily at the moonlit ghost. "Thank you."

"For what?"

Sora shifted a little but kept their eyes locked. "For being brave. I…I can't imagine what you have been through, but you're always there for me. So, thank you."

Chuckling, Riku shook his head, looking away as his bangs fell in his face. "I am not as brave as you must think. If I was, I would have done something about my situation long ago…" His voice trailed off but a moment later he seemed to pull himself together because he looked back over at Sora. "But you should be getting to sleep. I'll keep an eye out on everything."

Sora nodded, burying his face into his pillow and willing himself to go to sleep. He couldn't wait for morning.

When the sun finally came up, Sora ran to Roxas's room. He had to make sure that his little brother was okay. He trusted Riku, he really did, but he still had to see for himself that Roxas was safe and sound. Throwing Roxas's bedroom door open, he gasped happily when he saw Roxas still asleep in his bed, the younger's face relaxed and peaceful. A bubble of relieved laughter broke past his lips and he launched himself onto the slumbering teen.

Shouting, Roxas kicked out at the sudden presence, his blue eyes snapping open. "What the hell! Sora?! Get off of me!" Sora rolled off of him with a glowing grin as Roxas grabbed his nightshirt, trying to calm his pounding heart. "Shit, you nearly gave me a heart attack! What'd you do that for?"

"I'm just so happy you're okay!" Grin widening, Sora grabbed onto Roxas's shoulders, pulling the confused teen into a hug. "I don't know what I would have done!"

"What are you talking about?" Roxas asked. Sora shook his head, patting Roxas's spikes. Frowning, Roxas pulled away from his brother. "Sora, did something happen last night?"

"Roxas…"

"Was it Riku? 'Cause if it was I swear I'll-"

"It wasn't Riku." Sora swallowed, his eyes falling down to the sheets. "It was Xemnas. He, he made me think you were in trouble and I was scared all night thinking something bad had happened to you."

Scowling, Roxas held Sora out at arm's length. "Sora, you said he wasn't bothering you anymore."

"I know, but-"

"You said you were going to be okay. No wonder you've been so tired lately, how long has this been going on for?"

Pressing his fingers together, Sora looked up guiltily at Roxas. "About a week?"

"A week?! Sora-"

Sora shook his head, "No, I've been okay, I've had Riku there with me!"

"I don't care about Riku!" Catching his breath, Roxas frowned. "Riku can handle himself. But you can't. Xemnas could really hurt you Sora and don't tell me he couldn't because I've experienced things first hand! I'm telling Leon and Cloud what's happened and you are sleeping in my room tonight."

"I can't without telling Riku what I'm doing! He might get worried!" Sora hurriedly continued as Roxas's frown deepened. "I really don't like that it's so scary but I have to let him know that I'm going to stay with you, so I have to spend one more night in my room. Please Roxas, don't say anything yet!" Sora knew this would happen if he told Roxas that Xemnas wasn't leaving him alone. He knew Roxas made sense too, but part of him just couldn't leave Riku alone, at least not without some sort of explanation.

Putting on his best wide-eyed look, Sora clasped his hands together. "Please, Roxas?"

After a moment, Roxas sighed, rolling his eyes before glaring up at Sora. "Fine. I won't tell. But don't blame me if something goes wrong. Shit, now I'm going to be thinking about it all day…"

Sora smiled happily. "Thanks Roxas, you're the best!"

"Yeah, yeah. Whatever."

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After their talk, the day went by fairly quickly. Since it was summer, they spent time with their friends; Roxas at the skate park and Sora at the mall. Sora's best friend, Kairi, had dragged him into all the stores, a tradition he usually enjoyed but in his lack of sleep was beginning to catch up with him and by the fourth clothing store his feet were beginning to drag.

Sighing, he finally plopped down onto one of the mall's benches, dropping his head into his hands. A second later he felt Kairi sit down beside him and he lifted his head as a concerned hand fell on his shoulder. "Sora, what's wrong?"

"I just…haven't been getting a lot of sleep lately. Sorry."

Kairi rolled her eyes fondly. "You don't have to apologize but you should have said something! Come on, I'll drive you home. We can just watch a movie or something."

Nodding, Sora stood up as she did, following her as she led the way to the mall entrance. Kairi really was a great friend. She could be a little girly at times, but she was always understanding. It always seemed to amaze people that her and Sora were just friends, but there really wasn't any romantic attraction between the two. Kairi had been friends with him since kindergarten, if anything she had become something more of a sister that he got along well with.

The ride back to his house was quiet, mainly because Sora was struggling to stay awake. Once they got there though, Kairi quickly ushered him inside. Sora dropped down onto the couch as she picked out a movie for them to watch. Knowing her it would probably be some sort of sappy romance. Which would give Sora all the better excuse to sleep through the entire thing.

He must have drifted off as soon as he had laid his head down onto the couch's armrest because the next thing he knew, someone was shaking his shoulder. Wrinkling his nose, he tried to bat the hand away but it was persistent and a few moments later he blinked his eyes open to find Roxas standing over him.

When he saw that his brother was awake, Roxas smirked, "You've got a note on your forehead."

For a second, Sora panicked, thinking that Kairi had written on his face with permanent marker again. Reaching up, he was relieved then to feel a note had been taped to his forehead. With a small grunt, he pushed himself up into a sitting position and pulled the pink note off so that he could read it properly.

'_Sora, you fell asleep before opening credits! How late did you stay up last night?! I watched the movie by myself, so you owe me one day together. I know Roxas should be home soon, so I don't feel bad about leaving. Call me tomorrow, okay? Hugs and kisses. Kairi'_

Rubbing his forehead sleepily, Sora blinked up at Roxas. "What time is it?"

"Nearly six. Leon should be home any minute."

"Weren't you supposed to be home by four?"

"Gonna tell on me?" Sora shook his head. He knew he owed Roxas and he knew Roxas knew that. Stretching, he scooted to the side as Roxas sat down beside him. He could see Roxas getting away with a lot of stuff in the future. "Good. Now, let's see if there's anything good on TV."

By the time that Leon and Cloud had both come home, dinner hand been made and eaten, and another movie had been watched, night had come and Sora and Roxas had been told to go to bed. As he pulled his pajama shirt over his head, Sora looked to see that Roxas was standing in his doorway, the younger teen frowning worriedly. Are you sure you're going to be fine?"

Sora nodded. "I'm sure. I promise, tomorrow night I'll move into your room until that one guy comes to get rid of Xemnas for good."

"Okay…but I'm coming to check up on you as soon as the sun's up, whether you're awake or not."

Sora waved him off and closed his door before climbing into bed. It was a little strange that Riku hadn't shown up yet, but that was probably just because Roxas had been there. Sora shook his head, he didn't know why, but those two didn't really seem to get along. Wiggling his feet a bit, Sora glanced around the room as the minutes passed. There was still no sign of Riku. And no sign of Xemnas. Biting his lip, Sora stared at the empty window seat for a long moment before trying to call out gently. "Riku…Are you here?"

There was no answer.

Pouting a bit, Sora tried to think. Had he done anything that would make Riku angry? He hadn't brought any strangers into the house. Well, Kairi had come over, but she had left within a few hours, certainly Riku couldn't have gotten mad from that? Riku hadn't spent a day away since the last time he had apologized. It made the room feel empty.

After an hour and no Riku, Sora was beginning to get anxious for his ghostly crush. He hadn't even so much as sensed any sort of paranormal activity; the normalcy was getting him more worried than anything else ever had. He had gotten so used to seeing Riku every night that he was jumping to conclusions. Fisting his sheets into his hands, Sora shook his head. Riku was alright. After all, he was a ghost, it wasn't like he could have gotten hurt. Unless Xemnas had gotten to him.

Gasping, Sora opened his eyes, his voice almost cracking as he called out louder. "Riku! Are you there? If you are, I'm sorry if I did anything wrong, but I really have to tell you something!"

Still nothing. Letting out a whine of concern, Sora slid down into his bed. It was going to be another long night.

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17 June 2008

It had been three days since Sora had heard anything from Riku or had had any trouble with Xemnas. True, he had moved in to Roxas's bedroom, but still, he hadn't seen anything of his silver friend. And it was starting to eat away at him. Sora didn't know why, but he was really starting to get afraid. It was just some terrible gut feeling and he knew something was wrong.

Even Leon and Cloud had begun to take notice. Finally, Cloud sat Sora down. "Sora, what's wrong? You've seemed so depressed lately. You aren't eating and you're getting paler by the day. Leon and I are getting worried."

Sora frowned but avoided looking at Cloud's face. He knew he looked bad. He could feel his spikes drooping about his face and he knew he had dark circles under his eyes. But he couldn't help it. He needed to know what had happened to Riku.

"Is this about Riku?"

Sora's head snapped up and he stared wide-eyed at Cloud. How did he know?

Seeing his son's shocked expression, Cloud smiled wryly. "Roxas told me and Leon a bit about what was going on, including the fact that you might have a little crush on your ghost." Sora opened his mouth and then closed it. He wasn't sure what to think. He wasn't really mad at Roxas because he had been feeling a little guilty about keeping the information from their parents. If anything, he was actually a little relieved. "Now, we know that you haven't been able to stay in your own room but you shouldn't let that affect your life."

Shaking his head, Sora leaned against Cloud's arm. "You don't understand. He's been missing for three days! Last night, I even snuck out and went into my room! He wasn't there. I know something's wrong, Cloud and I don't know what to do because I want to help him but I can't do anything!" He didn't realize he was crying until Cloud reached up to brush away a tear. Sniffing, he grabbed onto Cloud's sleeve. "I really like him, Cloud. I don't know what I'd do if Xemnas hurt him…"

Cloud sighed, wrapping an arm around Sora's shoulders. "Sora, it's going to be okay. If you want, we can call Axel and his group. They were going to come in a few days to check up on us anyway but I'm sure they wouldn't mind coming a few days early. They might be able to figure out what's going on."

Sora looked up at him then smiled weakly. "Do you think they would be able to help?"

"Well they're the best experts we know. Axel's number should be sitting next to the phone if you want to give it a try."

As Sora went over to the phone, Roxas slipped into the unoccupied space beside Cloud, a worried frown directed at Sora's retreating form. "Was he mad that I told you?"

"No. But he's so out of it I doubt if he fully comprehended it." Frowning, Cloud leaned his chin on his hand. "From the sound of it though, this is a pretty serious crush though and unfortunately I don't see how it could end up well. And I don't even want to think about what they did in that room or I'll probably start yelling." Growling a bit, he smothered his thoughts then looked over at his younger son. "How are you holding up?"

Roxas blinked, glancing up at the older blond. "Me? Good enough I guess. At least I've been able to get to sleep at night. But then again if you're calling Axel over we might have to talk."

Cloud frowned, "If you feel uncomfortable around him, Leon and I can talk to him."

Shaking his head, Roxas smirked. "No, I'm fine. The guy's an idiot, not really a threat. Although I'd love to see Leon throw him in jail. Or maybe just beat that stupid read-head up. Both would be nice." Hearing Cloud chuckle, Roxas's eyes narrowed. "What?"

"Nothing. Just thinking back to my own teenage years."

Roxas shook his head. "I don't even want to know…" He perked up as Sora walked back into the room, the brown-haired teen visibly cheered. "Are they coming?"

"Yes! Axel said that they could come by tomorrow evening!" Smiling with relief, Sora's eyes drifted over to the staircase. He only hoped that Riku was just hiding. If it really was something else, something to do with Xemnas, then they would be in real trouble.


	14. Chapter 13: Just Breathe

Ack, I've been noticing more and more little mistakes in my previous chapters; spelling errors and the like. They're starting to bug me. Eventually I'll go back and fix them. It's always fun to hear what people think of the story though, sometimes your comments really do affect how I write, they make me think of plot points that I otherwise wouldn't have even bothered to think about. I can't get anything past you guys, which is pretty cool. It lets me know you're really reading. Thanks to you people who did review! yasu-yasu, Smiley Smackdown, Jynxer120, O.Forgetful.O, chibi heishi, Judiro, Tysonkaiexperiment, vamprincessmiyu, Aindel S. Druida, Misz Lovely x0x, Murd3r4lyf3, Kanpa, Miah The Storm Wolf, bliss, Randomasdf, Magami no Shi, Scootkadoot!

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Roxas checked the clock in the kitchen then sighed, glancing over at Leon who was cutting up some ingredients for dinner. "When do you think they're coming over?"

"Sora said 'tomorrow evening,' didn't he? They'll probably be here soon. Or not. College students aren't known for their punctuality. Why?"

"I was wondering when I should try and pull Sora out of his room. He's been there all day and his depression is starting to get me depressed." Roxas scooted over to make room for Cloud in the small kitchen, the older blond wiping grease from his hands and heading for the sink. "Done fixing your bike?"

Cloud rolled his eyes at the tone of the question. "Supernatural crisis or not, she still needs maintenance. Is Sora still upstairs?" Roxas and Leon nodded. "I thought so. Roxas, do you want to go get him or-" He was interrupted by a loud knock on the front door and he turned to his husband with a smirk. "Hope you made extra. It looks like our guests are here."

Walking out of the kitchen, Roxas made his way to the front door, calling up the stairs once he reached the entry hall. "Sora, they're here!" Not waiting for a reply, he opened the front door, unable to keep a smile from his face as Demyx bounded in, the young man as happy as always.

"Roxas! It's been so long!"

"Hey, Demyx." Roxas kept his smile as Namine and Zexion walked in, though the expression fell when Axel stepped into the house, the small blond crossing his arms impersonally.

Pouting, Axel leaned over him. "Aw, that's harsh, Roxie. We came here on an emergency call and you completely snub me."

Roxas glared up at him but let his arms drop. He hated to admit it but Axel was right; the college students were doing them a favor. But that in no way meant that Axel was going to get the opportunity to get anywhere near him. Smirking at the change in posture, Axel surprisingly backed off, leading the group into the parlor as he rubbed his hands together. "Alright, so what's the problem?"

"It's Sora." Roxas sighed then dropped down onto the couch, his worry for his brother showing as he ran a hand through his spikes. "I guess that Riku's gone missing and he's freaking out about it. I've never seen him so depressed. Never. And a lot of shit's happened to us over the years."

He swallowed as Namine sat down beside him, glancing up to see that Axel was standing next to Demyx and Zexion, the red-head's face distant but sad. Roxas was just thankful that he didn't see any pity. Sometimes he hated bring up their life before Cloud and Leon because of the looks of pity they got. He glanced back over to Namine as she put a delicate hand on his shoulder. "Roxas, what do you mean, 'Riku's gone missing'"?"

"I mean that he's disappeared. Usually he stays with Sora during the night but one night he just didn't show up. Sora thinks that Xemnas has something to do with it but you're going to have to ask him more about it…"

His voice trailed off as Cloud walked into the room, the man frowning thoughtfully, having heard the tail end of the conversation. "Where is Sora? I thought you called him down?"

Roxas's brows drew together, "I did. He probably just didn't hear me. Or else he's ignoring me."

"We'll give him a few minutes to come down on his own then."

Upstairs, Sora was on his bed, flipping through one of his comic books. He had his bedroom door open so that he could hear anything from downstairs but so far everything had been quiet. Sighing, he leaned his head back against his headboard. He hoped that Axel and the others would get here soon, it was already dark and that meant one more night of Riku missing. Suddenly, he sat up a little straighter. He could have sworn he saw something dark dart by his open doorway. Letting out a little puff of air, Sora shook his head. No, it was just his imagination. Riku had made it such an important point to keep his door closed that his mind was making things up.

His heart nearly stopped though when something dark skittered across the doorway again. That had not been his imagination, he had seen glowing eyes on the form that time. Pulling his legs up to his chest, he rubbed his arms as his breath became visible. The air was cooling at an alarming rate. He contemplated moving into Roxas's or his parent's room where the charms had been set up but along with the cold came an unsettling, terrifying feeling that sunk into Sora's body and kept him stuck to the bed. The feeling of dread wasn't at all natural, and it definitely wasn't what he usually felt when Riku was nearby. Biting his lip, he looked down at his sheets as the hallway grew dark.

Sora refused to look up then when he felt a large presence at the door. He didn't want to know what he'd see if he were to raise his head. A shudder ran down his spine as a chuckle rippled through the room. He knew that laugh. Xemnas.

The raspy voice that followed though was worse than the laugh. "Little Sora…that is your name, isn't it? It seems to be the only word Riku knows these last few days."

Sora kept his gaze locked on his sheets, hiding the tremble in his hands by digging his fingers into his covers. He couldn't let Xmenas get to him. The spirit was just trying to bait him; Riku was okay.

"It really is getting rather annoying. If he doesn't quiet down soon I might just have to quiet him myself. Of course I have already punished him for insubordination. One more strike and he might just disappear."

Sora's breath hitched and his head shot up against his better judgment, his eyes snapping over to the door. There was a black form in his doorway, filling it up, a sharp golden gaze piercing the form where the eyes would be. The eyes looked more animalistic than anything human. A scream of fright died on Sora's lips, coming out only as a small squeak.

A white smirk split the black face under the eyes and Sora tensed up. "Very good, a little eye contact. You are not so much a coward as I had originally thought." He paused, the smirk widening to a grin as he took a step back into the hallway. "I don't suppose you would like to see Riku?"

Swallowing, Sora shifted on the bed, somehow able to find his voice, though it cracked a bit half-way through. "O-Of course I would!"

"He's here in the hall. I would bring him in to your room, but as we have seen, I don't have the power to enter."

"Why can't he come himself?"

Xemnas chuckled, the noise coming out as a wet hiss, part of the black form breaking from the main body and shaping into a sort of arm as he pointed toward the end of the hall. "He's a little…weak. I'm afraid. You can see for yourself if you wish."

Still feeling like a trapped animal, Sora slid off of the bed. Xemnas had said that he couldn't come into the room, and Riku had said the same thing, so he could walk up to the door without any trouble, right? He could feel his heart pounding in his chest as he approached Xemnas, his face paling as the pressure in the air became heavier. He knew something bad was going to happen. Half of his mind was screaming to turn around and try and climb out his window but the other, stronger half, the part of him that had been worrying all week for Riku, needed to see his ghostly friend. Unfortunately, he had to come up right against the door in order to see where Xemnas was pointing.

Sora's foot just barely touched the threshold when Xemnas snapped forward, his hand freezing as it grabbed the front of Sora's shirt and dragged him out into the hall. Sora's cry of shock was cut off as the same hand suddenly wrapped around his throat and he found himself struggling just to breathe as his legs gave out from underneath him.

Xemnas's eyes were now burning with an insane rage. "You pathetic brat. You really are an idiot. You truly want to see Riku so badly?" Sora gasped as his body was forced around, his eyes widening as he saw shadows swirling around the end of the hall. Riku was in the center of them, his head hanging loosely and his hair falling in front of his face, his arms tied up by the black shadows. He looked to be unconscious, if that were possible for a ghost. It was terrifying how similar he looked to Namine's drawing from so long ago.

Struggling to break out of Xemnas's grip, Sora took the first opportunity of a free breath and called out. "Riku! Riku, wake up! Please!" He needed to know that Riku was okay. He cried out as Xemnas twisted him back around, pain shooting through his body as Xemnas dragged him closer.

"Pathetic." Xemnas's grin widened as he saw Sora's eyes dart to the stairs. "Your family cannot help you. After all, they have not come to save you yet, have they? They may have abandoned you." He laughed again as Sora let out an indignant grunt, the teen unable to do more as Xemnas's hand had tightened around his neck. "Let me kill all hope now. I have set up a barrier. They don't even know you're fighting for your life. They'll simply come up stairs a few moments later to find poor little Sora dead."

"…Sora…?"

Xemnas's eyes flashed up, looking over Sora's head. Sora closed his eyes with relief. Riku was awake. At least he was able to wake up. That was something. He heard rather than saw Riku wake up fully behind him.

There was a sharp intake of air before Riku cried out, "Sora!" his voice edged with a desperate rage that Sora had never heard before. "Sora! Xemnas, I swear I'll make every day hell for you if you dare hurt him!"

Snarling, Xemnas snapped back. "Since when have you had the right to threaten me?"

Sora felt his knees give out as he heard Riku shout angrily, the noise growing fainter as he was undoubtedly pulled back through the wall. He really was all alone now.

"You have so much faith in that whelp and his growing confidence is becoming irritating." Xemnas chuckled. "So much blind faith and yet you know so little about him. You would love to know what really happened to him, wouldn't you? You want to know what I did. What happened to that poor boy to have him suffer such eternal punishment." Xemnas pulled him closer, his voice lowering to a hiss as Sora's eyes widened. Yes, he did want to know what happened to Riku. He would give anything to know if it would help Riku. But he didn't want Xemnas to have anything to do with it but for Riku…

He didn't even have to answer. Xemnas seemed to read the answer straight from his mind. "You're like a little dog. Eternally loyal. Your answer is at the end of the hall."

Sora stumbled a little as Xemnas let him go. Rubbing his throat, he looked over at the stairs for only a moment before forgetting any idea of escaping. How can you escape a ghost that owns the whole house? He found himself unable to even shout for his family, his voice died on his throat as he saw a black shimmer at the start of the stairs. Xemnas really had set up a barrier. Biting his lip, he walked backward down the hall, keeping Xemnas in his sights the entire time. He knew Xemnas had control of the shadows too, but he was gambling that it would be better to keep an eye on the main threat.

There was nothing at the end of the hall. Sora trembled lightly as he touched the part of the wall where Riku had just been, his breath catching in his throat when he heard a recognizable click. Looking down at Xemnas's hand, he was shocked to see an old-fashioned gun glinting in the shadows. Smirking, Xemnas rose the gun up. "You asked to learn what had happened. And I am a man of my word."

A gunshot rang through the hall and suddenly all Sora could feel was pain. He had felt the bullet hit his chest, he could even feel blood starting to wet his shirt as it flowed out of the wound. Wincing, he stumbled forward half a step before he found himself falling, his world quickly being swallowed by darkness.

Back downstairs, Roxas was getting nervous. He hadn't heard anything from Sora. Even during the last few days, Sora had never been so quiet. Something in the back of his mind was screaming that something was wrong. Terribly wrong.

"…Roxas?"

Roxas blinked, his eyes flying over to Cloud as his father's voice broke through his thoughts. "What?"

"What's the matter? We've been trying to talk to you for the last five minutes."

Frowning, Roxas squirmed on the couch, his fear breaking past his lips before he could think to hold it back. "I don't know. I just, something's wrong."

Namine looked at him for a moment then frowned and stood up, her skirt brushing against her legs as she walked over to the parlor door. Her eyes drifted up the stairs and suddenly her hand flew to her mouth, her eyes wide as she let out a muffled shriek. "Oh no, Sora!"

Springing up, Roxas ran past her, Axel following close on his heels as they ran up the stairs. Halfway up, Roxas stumbled as the sound of a gunshot shattered the previous quiet, not even paying attention as the others followed after them. As soon as he got to the top landing, Roxas felt a freezing coldness wash over him, but the sight he saw when he turned sent a larger shock through his body.

Sora was at the end of the hall, his eyes wide as he clutched at his chest. Roxas could only watch as his older brother's eyes fluttered closed and he collapsed to the ground. Sucking in a sharp breath, Roxas opened his mouth in silent horror before running forward. Axel cursed under his breath, about to run after him when he looked up to see shadows crawling across the ceiling.

Roxas let out an enraged shout as arms wrapped around him, holding him back from his brother. "Roxas! Will you stop?!" Ignoring the pleading voice, Roxas thrashed against the other's grip as he was pulled against a chest. Axel held him tight, pulling him back as everyone else reached the second story. "Don't go down there. You'd only be attacked!"

Panting from the quick dash up the stairs, Demyx pushed past them as he dug into his pocket, pulling out a small, clear flask of water that he quickly sprayed over the entire area. The creatures on the ceiling hissed, disappearing back into the woodwork as the water hit them, the air loosing its oppressive heaviness. After the flask was empty, Demyx bent down over Sora, his voice wavering with worry as he looked up. "H-He's not breathing!"

Cloud jumped into action, running over to kneel down next to his son. Leaning down, he checked for any breathing before cursing and tilting Sora's head back. Roxas kept his face buried in Axel's shirt as Cloud began CPR, trying to hold back his panic as Axel held him tightly.

Two excruciating minutes had passed before he heard Cloud let out a sigh of relief, the older blond finally leaning back. "He's breathing on his own again…"

Closing his eyes, Roxas felt a few tears escape as he finally relaxed, Leon's voice hitting his ears, gruff from concern. "The gunshot."

Cloud checked Sora's body, worried about his son's weak pulse and unresponsive state. "There's no entry wound, no blood…Leon, we have to call an ambulance!"

"It wouldn't do any good," Namine said, her hands clasped anxiously together. "Sora was attacked by Xemnas. Oftentimes during spirit attacks, they can appear to hurt their victims. The victims will feel the corresponding pain but no wounds can be found. The reason he's not waking up isn't medical, it's supernatural." Shaking her head, she wiped a tear away. "I should have known something was wrong! I wasn't feeling any negative power but that should have been something I noticed! He was blocking off the upper story."

Demyx shook his head. "Don't blame yourself, Nami. None of us suspected anything. ..By the way, thanks for the holy water Zexy, turned out I needed it after all..."

Zexion nodded absently as Leon began to pace the hall, the older man's eyes on his fallen son. "What are we supposed to do about Sora then? Just wait until he wakes up?"

Demyx looked over at Namine who moved over to Sora. Bending down over him, she tucked her hair behind her ear, her eyebrows narrowing as she looked closely at him. After a moment, she put her hand on his forehead, closing her eyes thoughtfully. "He's not going to wake up, he's being overshadowed by Xemnas. It's not full possession, but still…it was strong enough to stop his breathing-" She suddenly stopped, looking up at the wall, her eyes widening. "Oh my."

Everyone looked up, Cloud tightening his hold on Sora's body as a misty figure appeared in the corner. Breaking away from Axel, Roxas turned around, wiping his eyes roughly before he glared at the mist. "Sure, now you show up! Where were you four frickin' minutes ago?!" The mist flickered then suddenly sunk back into the wall as quickly as it had come. "Coward!"

"Roxas, stop." Roxas looked over at Namine, his broken expression demanding an explanation. "This wasn't Riku's fault either. When he came in, his grief was heart-breaking…"

His head snapped up as Demyx let out an exclamation of insight. "Wait, we can fix this! Right, Nami?" Namine looked up at her brother as Demyx jumped over to Zexion and the backpack that his boyfriend had never gotten the chance to take off, pulling out what looked like a worn notebook and flipping through its pages. "Our family has a spell, an exorcising spell. It should make Sora okay, maybe, hopefully."

Axel frowned. "What will it need to work?"


	15. Chapter 14: Memories and Realities

200+ Reviews! Whahahahaha! Euge! I can't believe it actually happened. I totally love you guys. Hee, not much else to say besides that, I was doing a happy dance in my chair whenever I went on the computer for the last few days though! Thanks to all my reviewers, to all those who faithfully review as often as they can I really do appreciate it! To all the new faces; thanks so much for sending me a review! Thanks to Jynxer120, chibi heishi, Kanpa, Smiley Smackdown, Judiro, auPHE, Scootkadoot, Murd3r4lyf3, WaterJewelEmi, Nierx, NightmareFairy, Magami no Shi, key46812, bliss, ScuzzyToast, PirataNoctis, ruukku, desertrose11, O.Forgetful.O, RockehLovexxx, Miah The Storm Wolf.

Urg, I can't believe this chapter turned out so long, must be my guilt coming out from taking so long with it….Have fun though!

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They had moved down into the parlor, upstairs seeming too dangerous to everyone. Cloud had moved Sora onto the couch, draping a blanket over him as the teen's body temperature slowly began to drop. Roxas was sitting next to Sora's head, the blond refusing to let an inch come between him and his brother.

The others had been trying to put together a plan, but after half an hour, they had reached a problem. Axel frowned, looking over at Demyx who was pacing nervously in front of the TV. The normally optimistic young man was flipping through a worn book Zexion had packed in one of their bags, the book apparently containing all of his and Namine's family's spells. "So, you need what exactly?"

"I told you, we need to find the nearest lake! Or pond even, just deep enough for a person." Demyx pouted a little. "You know I'm associated with the water element and this spell is going to take a lot out of both Nami and me!"

Cloud shook his head. "The nearest lake I know of is on the other side of the city. With the traffic at this time of day, it'd take us at least two hours to get through downtown."

"What about this nearby park?" Leon walked into the room, having spent the last few minutes in the office scrounging for a decent map. Laying the city map out on the coffee table, he indicated to a large green patch on the paper. "It's just two blocks from here. It's pretty big so maybe it has a body of water in it."

Shaking his head again, Cloud glanced down at Sora. "I don't want to risk hours of searching for something that might not even be there. It might just be better to try the drive. Two hours would be better than nothing."

Namine leaned over Sora's prone body, hovering her hand over him for a moment before she sighed sadly. "I'm not sure that we even have that sort of time. Sora seems to be slipping farther into darkness. If we don't start the ritual soon, he may sink too far for us to be able to save."

"What are we supposed to do then?" Leon snapped, his worry getting the best of his patience until Cloud put a comforting hand on his shoulder.

"We'll think of something, don't worry."

Namine let out a little breath of air as she suddenly sensed another presence in the room. Tucking a strand of her white blond hair behind her ear, she turned and looked past the others to the entrance to the parlor, her gentle smile throwing everyone off for a moment until she began to talk. "Riku, you can come in if you want to."

Leon tensed a bit then shook his head as the room got a bit colder. Ghost in the room or not, they needed a plan. "Okay, we can go on-line and see if there are any satellite images of the nearby park. It'd show any lakes or-"

"Your internet isn't working, I already tried." Zexion murmured, his computer already on his lap. "Intense spirit activity often has corresponding high electro-magnetic fields, undoubtedly it's going to throw off anything electronic."

"We can go to a neighbor's house then…"

Roxas sighed exasperatedly as the others continued to talk amongst themselves, at this rate they weren't going to get anything done. His eyes widened though once they drifted down to the map on the table. Something was appearing on it. Shifting forward a bit, he called out softly, "Guys, the map!"

Everyone turned. In the green area labeled as the park, gray marks were beginning to materialize on the paper. Walking closer, Namine crouched down next to the table, watching as the slightly shaky, curving outline of a lake was drawn out on the east side of the park. "Riku…of course, all this land used to belong to your family, didn't it? And there was a lake there…Are you sure it was there?" She flinched at the strength of the answer, pictures of playing in the lake and walking around it on summer days flashing in her mind's eye one after another. A hand descended onto her shoulder and she gasped, looking up to see Demyx hovering worriedly over her. "Nami? You okay? You kind of spaced out there for a second."

"Yes, I'm fine. We should go!"

Axel scratched the back of his head, "I hope that lake's still there. 1882 was a long time ago, things could have changed." The lights flickered almost angrily and Axel held up his hands. "I'm just saying things happen. We're going to go of course, it's not like we have any other choices right now."

Closing his laptop, Zexion slid it into his messenger bag then stood up. "We don't have much time."

Axel nodded. "Right. Let's go. It's not that far, we can walk from here easy. Someone grab Sora, I'll grab the stuff from the back of the car."

As Cloud picked Sora up, Roxas hurried over to the front door, unable to watch the way his brother's head fell limply against their father's shoulder. Axel was close behind him, just pulling his keys out of his pocket when there was a sudden cacophony of creaking and snapping above their heads, a terrifying laugh mixed in as a crack suddenly split the ceiling. Cursing, Axel raced forward to try to get both him and Roxas out of the way, his world momentarily blacking out as a deafening noise rang out around them and something hit him hard on the back.

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Meanwhile, Sora was lost in a world of darkness. He couldn't even see his hands when he held them up to his face. At least, he assumed that he was lifting up his hands, he couldn't really even feel his limbs anymore. He tried to take a step forward but the action was pointless, he didn't even know if he was in a real space at all. Was this what it was like for Riku whenever Xemnas pulled him into the shadows? Sora hoped not; it was kind of spooky. And confusing.

He gasped as he suddenly felt an invisible pull, as if he was being dragged somewhere. A light appeared up ahead and Sora swallowed. What did they say about going toward the light? Not to go, right? At least, if you didn't want to die. He winced as he was nonetheless pulled into it, covering his face as he was initially blinded by it all, letting out a small noise of confusion as his feet dropped down onto something solid.

Lowering his hands, he was surprised to find that he was back in his own room. Or at least, it seemed like he was. Sora rubbed his eyes, his vision annoying as it seemed to flicker and stutter; it was almost like trying to watch one of those old, damaged movies or the TV with a bit of static. Split second flashes of his own room would also flash in front of him, messing with his perception of the space he currently found himself in. Not to mention that all the colors were rather muted. And his bed wasn't in the right place, and since when had his desk looked like that?

Pouting, Sora finally took a good look around the room and crossed his arms. "This can't be my house…nothing's the same." He squeaked as someone brushed by him, his breath catching in his throat when he saw that the older teen who walked past him was strangely both familiar yet different from what he remembered. "Riku…?"

If he had heard him, Riku gave no response, only covering his mouth to smother a small cough, an annoyed murmur escaping him after he had cleared his throat. "Honestly, I can't even go to the bathroom without an interrogation." He let out a sigh then walked over to the window seat, crossing his arms as he sat down on the cushion, his eyes locked on the outside world.

"Riku!" Grinning, Sora ran over, "Riku, you're alright! I'm so happy! What happened? What's going on? ...Riku?" Sora's brow furrowed as Riku failed to answer him. Riku wouldn't be ignoring him, at least, not after everything had happened. Not after he had sounded so worried before.

Riku sat for a few minutes, staring outside as Sora tried to get his attention. Nothing was working. He even waved his hand right in Riku's face bit the teen didn't so much as blink. Sora bit his lip as he pulled his hand back, shrinking into himself. He knew something was wrong now. It, it was almost like he had become the ghost.

He gasped as Riku suddenly stood up, shuffling out of the way as Riku walked straight past him again, making Sora's resolve crack a little at the other teen's blank expression. He watched as Riku tucked a strand of his silver hair behind his ear then looked down at his own desk, shuffling through some papers. Riku seemed deep in his own thoughts and Sora was curious to know what was on his mind. Letting out a little sigh, Sora walked over to him, leaning down so that he could watch Riku's face for any sign of acknowledgement. "So, I guess you really can't see me, can you?"

He instinctually stepped back as Riku raised his arms, tying his hair back before he tucked his papers underneath one arm and turned to his door. Pouting, Sora followed him out, having nothing better to do but feeling like a shadow as he trailed the other teen, talking to Riku but really just talking to himself. "Riku, I don't know what's going on. You seem solid but how does that work? Have I gone back in time?" He worked himself up into a flurry of excitement, waving his arms around wildly, "Am I going to have to live for a hundred years until I come back and see myself come in for the first time?!" He froze, looking to see if Riku had at all noticed him before frowning when he saw that there was still no reaction. "Geez Riku, what do I have to do to catch your attention?"

Following Riku down the stairs, he watched amusedly as Riku ran for the front door, managing to slip through the door before Riku had closed it behind him.

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Outside in the real world, Roxas was finding himself in another unreal situation. Coughing, he tried to clear his throat from all of the plaster dust that had filled his mouth. He let out a quiet moan as he felt a pounding pain in his leg, his eyes flickering open as he heard coughing above him.

He gasped as he saw Axel crouching over on his hands and knees, his arms rigid as he held the weight of the collapsed ceiling. Letting out a cry of surprise, Roxas jerked, the noise of surprise turning to one of pain as the movement sent a new shock of pain through his leg. Wincing, Axel shook his head. "Don't move. I probably didn't manage to cover all of you…"

"S-Shit." Grimacing, Roxas looked up at the chunks of timber and plaster over Axel's shoulder, "Are, are you holding all that up?"

"It's either that or let us both get crushed." Axel chuckled, his voice slightly raspy. "I don't know about you but that doesn't sound like such a great way to go. And some of the weight is on the ground around us." He winced as the wood above him creaked, shifting a little and settling a new weight on his back.

Both of them quieted down as they heard a scuffling outside the rubble, a moment later wincing as a beam of light cut through the dusty mess, Leon's frantic voice reaching them a moment later. "Roxas! Axel! Can you hear me?"

"Dad!" Roxas smothered a gasp of pain, looking up at Axel whose arms were beginning to shake. "It's okay, we can hear you." There was a sigh of relief and Roxas continued. "Someone has to go help Sora." There was a long pause and Roxas growled. "We're not dying! He is and I'd never frickin' talk to you again if someone doesn't get their ass to that lake!"

There was a murmur of conversation as Axel smirked. "You sure do have a temper, kid."

Roxas scowled up at him, the expression fading somewhat into worry as he noticed how much Axel's arms were beginning to tremble worse. "Are you okay?"

"Gotta be, don't I?" Shaking his head as he felt sweat begin to form on his forehead, Axel looked down at Roxas. Sounds of someone working to remove the pile of debris from on top of them resonated into their pocket of open air and Axel sighed after another moment. "I don't suppose you could move your leg in? It'd be nice to get some of this weight off my back and onto the ground."

Roxas shifted then winced, something lying over his leg just below his knee. "Sorry." Axel just nodded and an almost awkward silence fell over them. Neither of them could comfortably move anywhere and Roxas at least had just noticed how closely Axel was leaning over him. "…So, if this is a part of your grand seduction plan, I hope you know it's your worst move yet."

Letting out a strained laugh, Axel shook his head. "Nah, this was more of a spur of the moment thing. If it had been planned it would have been more flashy, you know? Certainly less painful anyway." A grimace flashed across Axel's face. "Shit. It would be really great to get some of this weight off my back some time soon."

Roxas frowned then lifted his arms up, placing them on either side of Axel's shoulders on the largest piece of wood he could find. "Go ahead and relax a little. I can handle a bit it."

Frowning, Axel nonetheless allowed his arms to relax a bit, the expression deepening when he saw Roxas wince. "Too much?"

"No, I've got it. Besides, your skinny arms looked like they were about to snap. I'm just looking out for my own safety now."

"Hey, you're not exactly one to talk-"

"Are you two done chatting or can you give me a hand down there?"

Roxas blinked, tilting his head to peer over Roxas's shoulder then grinning as he spotted a bit of Leon's face from a small hole in the rubble. "Leon!"

"I've gotten most of the smaller things off but now I'm going to try to move some of the big things, so you're going to have to let me know if something goes wrong."

"Leon's all by himself?" Roxas questioned curiously, more to himself than anyone else, blinking with surprise as Axel answered above him.

"Well, yah. It's going to take both Demyx and Namine together to get the spell done. It's probably good that Cloud's going because I'm sure someone's going to end up hurting themselves and Zexion's just an ass who decided to go with Demyx rather than help his old buddy Axel." He chuckled at Roxas's incredulous expression. "Kidding. Both Demyx and Nami are gonna be completely wiped out afterwards and someone's got to be out there to watch everyone's backs."

"Zexion does more than use computers?"

"Sure. Everyone on the team's multi-talented."

"I don't know. You seem pretty useless to me."

Axel winked. "Hey, someone's got to look pretty for the cameras…" His voice trailed off as a large creaking sound filled their air pocket, letting out a groan of relief a moment later as the chunk of beam lying across his back was lifted up, Leon appearing as the beam lifted further.

"Axel, give it a push if you can. I don't want it hitting either of you when I let it go."

Nodding, Axel reached up, pushing the wood away at the same time as Leon. It crashed loudly onto the ground a few good inches away from them, both Axel and Roxas breathing in the fresh air as they found themselves back in the entrance hall.

Seeing that Roxas still had his leg trapped under another stray beam, bigger than the one that had been over Axel's back, Leon shook his head then bent down over it. "Okay Roxas. I'm going to lift this up as much as I can but you're going to have to pull out from under it. Understand?"

Roxas nodded hurriedly, a small gasp of pain escaping him as Leon managed to lift the beam up a few inches. With a painful but quick jerk, he pulled himself backwards, freeing his leg. After seeing that Roxas was well clear, Leon let it drop back onto the ground, immediately walking over to his son. Wincing as Leon tentatively tested for breaks, Roxas smacked his father's shoulders. "Don't touch it, it frickin' hurts!"

"I need to know how serious it is. I don't feel any breaks but I'm taking you both to the hospital any way." Reaching into his back pocket, he pulled out his cell phone, his furrowed eyebrows betraying his inner panic as he punched in a memorized number.

"I thought there was electrical interference." Roxas said as he gingerly began to roll up his pant leg, wincing when he saw a massive bruise forming on the spot that had been under the most pressure.

Leon shook his head, looking down at Roxas as he put the cell phone up to his ear. "According to Namine, all supernatural activity stopped after the ceiling collapsed. It apparently took some amount of energy-" He cut himself off as someone picked up on the other end. "Cloud! They're fine, don't worry." He paused for a moment, glancing back at Axel and Roxas as he frowned lightly. "I think they've gone into shock of some sort. They've been unusually compliant and quiet. Yes, I'm taking them to the hospital. Call me if something happens on your end, my phone will be on. Yah, stay safe. Love you too. Bye."

OoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOo

Cloud snapped his cell phone shut carefully shifting his hold on Sora to tuck it into his back pocket. Ahead of him, Demyx turned around, his face expectant. "So, what'd he say? They're okay, right?"

"They're fine. Leon's going to take them to the hospital though just to make sure everything's okay.

Demyx sighed with relief, looking up at the night sky as they walked quickly down the first park trail they had found that was heading in the right direction toward the supposed lake. So far they had been walking for about ten minutes. Every so often Zexion would glance down at the map Riku had drawn on, his slate-colored eyebrows drawing together as he would look back up at the surrounding area. These constant glances down at the map were making Cloud nervous, Sora's body in his arms seemingly becoming heavier with each step they took, or perhaps that was just the gravity of the situation slowly sinking into his mind.

Checking like he was doing every few seconds to make sure that the small teen in his arms was still breathing, if only faintly, Cloud began to have doubts about the whole plan. He knew medicine, for God's sake he was going to be a doctor in a few months and he had gone along with this spell-casting plan? Sora should have been in a hospital bed right now, not being carried through some dark jungle of a park looking for some lake that might have been destroyed in the last hundred years of land development.

His thoughts were suddenly interrupted when Demyx let out a loud cry of happiness, the young man jumping up and down as he pointed off through a thicket of trees. "I saw it, its right over here! Come on!"

Quickening their pace, they weaved their way through the dense wall of trees to find that in front of them, the forest had opened up to a large, glassy-surfaced lake, the water reflecting the dark night sky. Feeling a jolt of relief despite his inner misgivings, Cloud walked over to the bank, setting Sora down on a level patch of grass. "So what now?"

Demyx answered, though he was peering up and down the back as if looking for something. "Now we have to perform the spell. Zexy and Nami have all the supplies for it in their bags, and we're lucky that it's a waning moon; banishing negative energy is much easier under a waning moon you know. All we need now is- aha!" Grinning, he suddenly sprinted off along the bank. Cloud turned to Zexion for an explanation but the young man only shrugged as he set about emptying things from his messenger bag, Namine doing the same beside him.

A few minutes later, they all looked out onto the water as they heard a muffled splashing noise, surprised to see Demyx grinning widely as he rowed a small, almost dilapidated rowboat up onto the back, jumping out victoriously. "Look! I found a boat! Now we don't have to do this in the shallow water! Awesome, right?"

Namine nodded at her brother's excitement before handing him a jar, a bundle of incense sticks, and three candles, her voice wavering a bit as she quietly spoke up. "We should hurry. Sora's already been gone for longer than I would have wanted."

"You're right." Demyx sighed, running a hand through his hair before turning to Cloud, his face surprisingly serious. "We're going to need to take Sora on the boat with us. If everything goes well, we'll be able to finish the spell in about half an hour. If it doesn't work the first time though, we'll have to keep on adding onto it until we're able to get rid of Xemnas's negative energy completely." His normal smile flickered back onto his face as he wagged his finger at Zexion and Cloud. "You two are going to have to stay here, okay? We can't have any interruptions!"

Cloud found himself nodding only because Zexion had. He even helped carry Sora onto the boat, finding himself dropping down beside Zexion as the boat silently pushed out onto the lake a moment later. He turned toward Zexion, surprised to see that the other had a small bible open, holding it close to his face so that he could read under the faint light of the night sky.

"You're religious?" Cloud asked.

"When the situation calls for it." Zexion's eyes briefly glanced at him before he returned to his text. "I would suggest that you find someway to relax as well. Demyx and Namine are capable witches. They will be able to help Sora."

OoOoOoOoOoOo

For his own part, Sora was quickly becoming exasperated with whatever window into the past he had been thrown into. He had followed Riku down to the mailbox, which actually had been kind of fun. He couldn't believe that the house really had been in the middle of nowhere! He had watched as Riku talked to the man who drove in on some ridiculous type of car. It looked like that thing could barely move over ten miles per hour. Now he had climbed up onto the car, sitting behind Riku as the two talked. He found that with his vision jerky and strange that it was kind of hard to focus on any one thing, and found himself wondering if this was how Riku had to experience the world. It kind of sucked.

It was fun though watching Riku live some sort of life. He was so polite and talked to the adult next to him so well. Not to mention he looked really good in those old-fashioned clothes when the outfit was completely put together. Sora grinned, his crush was awesome.

Sticking his head between the man, who apparently was somehow important in town, and Riku, Sora stuck his tongue out at Riku, once again pouting when there was still no reaction. He looked forward as Riku seemed to spot something that made him shrink down into his seat.

There was a tall man outside the front door of their house, his long silver hair immediately telling Sora that he was Riku's father. "Oh, that's Sephiroth, isn't it? Heh, he actually looks like the picture from that history book. You said he was a lawyer, didn't you, Riku? I wouldn't like to be questioned by him, he's scary." For some reason he found that he liked talking to Riku, even if the older boy didn't know he was there.

Sora couldn't help but grin as he watched Riku clearly quailing under his father's gaze. So there was something that once upon a time could control him. Sora's smile widened as he watched Riku only go halfway up the stairs. "So much for doing what your dad said! Leon would give me a death glare if I did that!"

His smile fell as he caught Riku's intense expression. His eyes were locked on the parlor where the two adults were talking. Sitting down on the stairs beside Riku, Sora sighed. "I guess they're saying something important, aren't they? Oh, we're moving closer?"

He followed Riku down the stairs, standing in the middle of the doorway as Riku hid off to the side. He paid more attention when he suddenly heard Sephiroth gasp.

Sephiroth was leaning back in his chair, his light eyebrows drawn together, concerned. "Ansem…I hoped I would never have to think about him again. That madman. How did he escape?" Ansem. Oh, they were talking about Xemnas. Sora's eyes widened and snapped over to Riku as dread settled inside him. He must be watching the day that Riku was killed! Biting his lip, Sora shook his head. He didn't want to be there anymore, but he couldn't help but pay greater attention to the conversation. The strange man was talking now, almost wringing his hat in his hands.

"One of the guards got within two feet of the cage. He was new and inexperienced. Ansem strangled him and stole the keys. Once he got out of the cell it was all over. All of the guards were killed. It was…It was complete carnage. We have no idea where he went, Sephiroth-"

"But you think he's coming here."

Turning to Riku, Sora tried to pull on his sleeve only to have his fingers go straight through the other's arm. "Riku, you have to hear me, you need to watch out! You're going to get hurt today, you might even die! You're going to become a ghost at least!" He let out a muffled cry of frustration as he stomped his foot. "How do you always manage to catch my attention back home?" Puffing his cheeks up, he sucked in a breath then screamed. "Riku!"

Sora could only watch as the day played itself out. He followed Riku up to their room, watched him back. He couldn't help but smile as the necklace fell onto the floor, knowing where it would end up. The smile quickly fell though when he heard a second crash downstairs that pulled Riku out into the hall.

Time seemed to slow yet go much too fast when he watched Riku approach the parlor. He knew he wouldn't be able to stop Riku from moving forward but he couldn't help but shout for Riku to stop, to go back upstairs. To do anything besides going into that room. But Riku went in the room. Sora could feel tears rolling down his cheeks when Ansem pulled out his gun. "No, Riku…"

In a split second decision, he ran forward, throwing himself between Riku and Ansem as the gun fired, gasping as the bullet went through his chest. He felt nothing, but when he turned, he saw blood spreading on Riku's shirt, forming into that familiar patch. He spun around as he heard another noise, letting out a shriek when he saw Sephiroth leaning over Ansem who had a sword through his chest. Stepping back, he kneeled beside Riku, crying quietly as he watched Sephiroth run over to his son. Why did he have to watch this?

Crouching down in front of Riku, Sora watched as his crush's eyes flutter, his face paling as he bled out. He smiled shakily. "Don't, don't worry Riku." He whispered. "You'll be just fine…"

His eyes were still wet as Sephiroth lifted Riku up, carrying him out of the room. He was about to follow them when he heard some movement behind him. Twisting around, he saw Ansem moving. He was still alive. Squeaking, Sora sprung back, his hands fumbling for the wall behind him as Ansem crawled forward, toward him, toward where Riku had died. Scooting back, he barely breathed as Ansem began muttering something under his breath, forcing himself to scoot forward so that he could actually hear what he was saying. "S-Sephiroth…I swear…you-your son will never rest…I curse you, a-and your son…I will, I will torture him forever! He will forever suffer exactly…exactly as he is now…"

Sora's eyes were wide as he felt his heart jumping into his throat. This was it. This was what Riku had missed. Why he had been stuck in their house for the less hundred years. Ansem had cursed Riku.

Sora watched as Ansem finally collapsed, biting his lip as he tensed up; had Ansem just died? Suddenly, Ansem's head snapped up, the quick jerk drawing a startled shriek from Sora as Ansem's eyes stared straight into him, a terrifying but familiar grin spreading across the too humanistic face. "Hello Sora."

Sora felt himself freeze up, his body refusing to move when he suddenly found himself being pulled backwards, back into the darkness. And for the first time he was thankful for it.


	16. Chapter 15: Life Again

Oo Di immortales! 23 reviews?! Eh heh, I don't know what I'm doing but I love you guys! A special thanks to Lady Stars and EternalSketches, who for some reason took it upon themselves to review for most of the chapters in just these last few days! It was pretty cool watching your reactions to the story, and I'm glad you and all the other new visitors decided to give it a chance! Also thanks to all my other faithful reviewers, heh, you guys are totally awesome!! Thanks to -IvyBlonde-, ironyofalostkeyword, desertrose11, Aindel S. Druida, chibi heishi, Misz Lovely x0x, noperfect917, Cho-Serake, Aly-Cooper, Kanpa, Jynxer120, Murd3r4lyf3, ZSAngel, Smiley Smackdown, NightmareFairy, key46812, Ivy J., Satsukifujin, Aki plz., bliss, Scootkadoot, PyschoB!

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19 June 2007

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Sora looked around in the dark, realizing with a bit of happiness that although he was still being pulled backwards he could now see his hands; somehow the darkness had gotten a little brighter. He gasped as he felt himself spun around, letting out a squeak of happiness when he saw Riku about a foot away from him, back in his ghostly form but still standing all the same.

"Riku! You're okay! Well, not really but-" He stopped when he saw Riku's face, the wide white eyes staring straight at him. "Riku?"

"Sora…" Riku took a shaky step forward. "Thank God you're okay." He lifted his hand, his fingers floating over Sora's cheek, as if making sure that Sora was still solid and therefore untouchable. "I'm sorry. I'm so sorry. I should have never gotten you involved with any of this."

Sora smiled weakly, his eyes sliding closed at the feel of the comforting chill on his face. "It's not like it was your fault. You're a victim as much as I am."

Shaking his head, Riku couldn't help but chuckle. "I'm not at all like you, Sora. Not anymore." His face grew serious. "Which is why we have to find a way to free you from Ansem's power. I wouldn't be able to stand myself if you had to go through what I have. I was able to pull you from his deeper grip just now, but I doubt I have the energy to completely free you. I can't imagine what he was putting you through…"

Sora bit his lip before he looked up uncertainly at Riku. "He, he made me watch you die." He swallowed, feeling himself beginning to tear up. "I was there with you the whole time, Riku, I, I saw what happened." The tears were falling freely now as Sora's shock began to dissipate; somehow saying the words was making everything that much more real. "It was horrible! It must have been so scary, I couldn't even imagine…!"

"Sora." Sora rubbed at his eyes at the sighed murmur, clearing his vision only to see Riku looking at him with an almost relieved expression. When their eyes met, Riku smiled sadly. "You don't know how much I wish that I could brush away those tears." The ghost leaned down so that their foreheads would have been touching. "It was terrifying, yes. And it must have been awful for you; from what I can remember a lot of blood was spilt. But truthfully I am thankful that's all he put you through. He could have done far worse."

Sora shook his head, sniffing as he tried to contain his crying. "He killed you! That's about the worst thing that could ever happen!"

"In most cases, perhaps." Riku smirked, trying to bring Sora's spirits back up. "In my case the afterlife has been a bit trying too. But then again, I have been able to meet you, so maybe I should consider it a fair trade."

Chuckling through the last bit of his tears, Sora shook his head, a small blush dusting across his cheeks. "I wouldn't if I were you…" His voice trailed off for a moment before he asked weakly. "Riku, what's going to happen to me?"

"I don't know. If your body is kept alive on the outside world, maybe you will have some chance of returning to it. Xemnas does not have complete power over you yet though so we shouldn't lose hope. I promise Sora, I'll do everything I can to protect you."

Sora nodded, looking up into Riku's eyes, realizing for the first time just how close their faces were. It was a little disconcerting not to feel any breath coming from Riku's mouth, it reminded him that they weren't really touching and that ruined any ideas of closing that small gap and pressing their lips together. Which he really wanted to do.

"Sora, you're turning red."

"A-Am I?"

Riku chuckled, nodding softly. Sora felt more blood rise into his cheeks, embarrassment washing over him. It took him a moment to realize that it wasn't just embarrassment that was sweeping over him, it was also another feeling, almost a tugging on the back of his shirt. Pursing his lips together, Sora glanced back up at Riku. "Um Riku, are you feeling a sort of tugging…?"

Riku took a second to answer but when he did it was terse. "Yes."

Frowning at the expression on the ghost's face, Sora tilted his head to the side. "Is something wrong?"

Riku shook his head as if trying to clear it, taking a step back as he lifted a hand up to rub his chest. "It's nothing. Just an uncomfortable feeling." Letting out a little grunt, he pressed his hand closer to the bullet hole on his shirt front.

"Riku, are you okay?"

"I'm fine."

Sora frowned, stepping forward. "You're lying. Is your chest hurting?" Riku finally nodded. "Do you think it's Xemnas?"

"I don't know. Possibly. He's never, he's never done this before though." Sora let out a cry of concern as Riku dropped down to one knee. "I can't even remember the last time I felt, anything, but this…" Wincing, he shook his head again. "You, you shouldn't worry about it, I'm sure it will pass." He glanced up at Sora before his white eyes widened. "Sora!"

"What?" Sora looked down at himself then gasped. He could see through his torso! Swallowing, Sora felt panic welling up inside him, his eyes shooting over to Riku who was wearing a similar expression of shock and surprise. "Riku, what's going on?"

Riku shook his head, wrapping his arm around his chest as he tottered to his feet. He put his hand over Sora's chest, letting out a sigh of relief. "Your heart is beating still. It's okay. Are you still feeling that tugging sensation?"

Nodding, Sora closed his eyes, not able to look at himself as he felt a chill beginning to seep into his body. "I don't like this."

"You're going to be okay, Sora."

Sora bit his lip, feeling the cold completely surround him, suddenly finding it hard to breathe. The last thing he heard was Riku calling out to him, a hand wrapping around his wrist before he blacked out again.

OoOoOoO

Meanwhile, Demyx and Namie were having a hard time on the lake surface. Spreading a bit of salt on the rowboat's bench that was now serving as a make-shift altar, Namine lit the first candle, its white body glowing from the small flame. She held it up as Demyx toed off his shoes, her older brother shivering as he slipped into the water. "Are you okay, Demyx?"

"Of course! The water's just freezing. Course it is though, duh, it's night time!" Treading the water with expert ease, he reached over the side of the boat, wrapping his arms under Sora's chest before pulling him into the water with him. Holding onto the side of the boat so that he would be able to keep a grip on Sora and keep him from sinking, Demyx looked up to Namine. "Alright. The water should enhance the spirit conductivity. Ready, Nami?"

She nodded, beginning the incantation in a soft voice, Demyx starting up along with her a moment later. After finishing the first verse, Namine lit another candle, a black one this time. As she shook out the match, she glanced down at Demyx, sharing his look of uncertainty. That beginning of the spell had been rather hard to get out, not to mention that the flames were starting to flutter despite the lack of wind. She could feel the strain of the spell-casting weighing on her and knew Demyx was feeling the same thing; a bad sign so early on in the verses. Nevertheless, she began the second verse, watching the two candles burn, the quiet sound of Demyx moving around in the water the only noise besides their voices.

As the strain of carrying the spell grew, Namine sat down on the bottom of the boat, resting her smaller hand over Demyx's after his grip on the boat had tightened, betraying his own impending fatigue. He was already getting tired of holding himself and Sora up in the water. But they only had one more candle to light before ending the spell.

With a slightly shaky hand, Namine picked up the last one, the green candle cool in her hand as she lit the tip using the flame of the white one. With the three candles burning, the light was now able to shine out from the boat, illuminating Demyx and Sora's faces in the water.

Adjusting his grip on Sora's body as they began the final verse, Demyx looked for any signs of improvement. He could feel the spiritual energy moving around them in the water, but so far Sora hadn't done so much as twitch. But then again, he realized that something almost seemed to be interfering with the spell, it was almost like he could feel a weight that had been added to Sora's soul.

Suddenly Sora's body was literally ripped from his grip, pulled down under the water. Yelping, Demyx dove down after it, knowing Namine would be able to carry on the spell from above the surface. She would have to. Kicking forward towards Sora's descending form, Demyx grabbed onto the back of the teen's shirt, the best hand-hold he could snatch in the split-second opportunity.

Sora was wrapped up in the sensation of falling through freezing darkness. He couldn't even open his eyes or mouth from the pressure, it was like he couldn't even breathe. The only thing he could feel besides the cold as he hurdled downward was a tight grip around his wrist and the only thing he could do was pray that it was Riku because he had no idea where he was going but he sure didn't want to go there alone.

The world suddenly seemed to right itself though as he felt something pulling him on the back of his neck, and the sensation of falling was turned upside down so that it now felt as if he was going up. The cold around him was becoming more substantial and he could feel a tangible pressure and cold around his whole body as he was dragged up.

Just when he thought he wouldn't be able to survive without another second of air, he was forced up another few inches and he broke the surface of what he now realized was water.

Sputtering, he nearly choked on a mouthful of the lake, his brown spikes limp and dripping in his face as he became aware of the hand that was digging into the back of his shirt. Coughing, Sora twisted around wildly, shock registering in his mind when he saw that it was Demyx who was holding him, the young man also soaked and looking exhausted despite the fact that he was now grinning.

Kicking hard to keep his head above the lake's surface, Sora took in another gasping breath. "D-Demyx? What's, what's going on?"

Laughing tiredly, Demyx's grin widened. "We just did the most awesomest of awesome spells, that's what! Now c-" he stopped mid-word, his mouth hanging open and his eyes widening as they landed on something behind Sora.

He twisted around as he felt a sharp tug on his wrist, his own eyes widening as something appeared beside him below the water. There was a flash of silver before it broke the surface. Gasping when he saw moonlight silver hair soaking and plastered in front of a solid body, Sora reached forward to push the hair back.

As soon as Sora's fingers touched his face, Riku let out a sharp gasp of air, immediately coughing roughly and grabbing for the side of the boat as Sora pushed his hair away from his face. Sora's own breath hitched as his fingers ran through Riku's hair, pushing the silky strands back to reveal a pair of brilliant aqua eyes. The eyes sent a shock through Sora, their color against Riku's marble-white face striking.

But he was actually touching Riku. The ghostly teen was really in front of him, solid. He could feel tears running down his cheeks as he grabbed Riku's hand, pulling it up to rest against his own cheek as Riku let out a choked laugh. Riku's skin was freezing against his face but Sora couldn't care less as his thumb moved up to brush away his tears. Sora nuzzled into the touch, grinning as his own fingers mirrored Riku's actions.

Reality rushed back to him though when he felt Demyx's hand on his shoulder, the young man's voice breaking past their private world. "There's blood in the water! Who's hurt?"

Blinking, Sora pulled his hand away from Riku's face, watching as the other's eyes fluttered close briefly. "Riku?" He looked down, swallowing when he realized that the bullet wound which had been a ghostly silver for so long was now turning red again, new blood soaking the shirt again and quickly mixing with the water around them. "Riku!" Riku's eyes met his, his hand lifting up meet Sora's but Sora realized for the first time just how much it was shaking. Turning around to Demyx, Sora grabbed onto Riku's hand. "It's Riku, his bullet wound is still bleeding!"

Demyx frowned, paddling weakly over to Riku as he looked up at Namine. "Well, at least we know why it was so hard bringing Sora back. He was attached to Riku…" His voice was awed in an exhausted sort of way. "We just brought two people back to life…"

Namine mirrored her brother's frown, looking down worriedly at Riku as Demyx wrapped his arms around the pale teen to keep him from slipping down under the water. Wiping her forehead, she snuffed out the candles, sitting down on the bench they had recently occupied. "But it wasn't a resurrection spell! This shouldn't have happened." She caught her breath, motioning down to Riku. "Oh, hurry, get him into the boat, the water's only drawing the blood out faster!"

Sora climbed into the boat, helping to pull Riku in as Demyx held him up. Even Sora was feeling weak but looking at everyone else, he could see that he now appeared to be the best off. Demyx had collapsed next to Riku, both blond siblings obviously tired after the spell. Swallowing, Sora leaned over Riku, worried by the way the other's breathing had become rapid and shallow. "Riku, can you hear me?"

Swallowing, Riku nodded, leaning his head back against the side of the boat, sucking in a sharp breath before answering. "Yes…"

Sora nodded, unable to help from touching Riku's hair again, his hand falling down to touch his shoulder comfortingly. "Don't worry, you'll be okay. Demyx, where's Cloud?"

Demyx waved a hand over to the shore before looking despairingly over to the oar, wondering just how he was going to pull enough energy together to row them back to shore. Turning around to where Demyx had motioned, Sora spotted the two small figures of Cloud and Zexion on the shore. Both of them were standing by the lake edge, Cloud visibly perking up as Sora cupped his hands around his mouth and shouted. "Dad! Dad, Riku's shot! He's bleeding!"

From on the shore, Cloud cursed, running a hand through his blond spikes as he looked out at the boat far out on the water. "What does he mean, Riku's been shot?"

Zexion shook his head. "We both saw two figures come out from the water. One was Sora so somehow, Riku must have appeared too. And the last we know is that Xemnas shot him so maybe the wound is coming back."

"Shit." Cloud frowned then reached down, untying his shoes before taking off his shirt and wading into the water. He shivered at the freezing temperature, forcing himself to get used to it.

Zexion frowned, watching for a second before asking. "What are you doing?"

"I need to get to them. If he's really bleeding that wound needs to have pressure on it, not to mention get to a hospital." He took a deep breath then dove in. The water was as cold as ever but he ignored the bite and swam quickly over to the stagnant boat. When he reached it, he pulled himself up over the wooden lip, his eyes immediately widening at the sight of a strange teenager sprawled out in the bottom of the boat, his shirt covered in blood. Sora tugged on his sleeve, the action snapping him out of his shock. Moving over to him, Cloud quickly unbuttoned the shirt, looking around for something to staunch the blood, immediately grabbing Sora's shirt after his son had torn it off and offered it to him.

As he was putting the pressure on the wound, Cloud looked up to Riku's face, talking calmly and clearly. "Can you tell me your name?"

Riku frowned, closing his eyes for a second before he blinked them open, the reaction somewhat slow and his voice somewhat shaky though the response was cognitive enough. "Riku Miyuno. And you're Sora's father?"

Cloud nodded, "That's right, I'm Cloud. Now Riku, you're going to have to stay awake for me, okay?"

Nodding, Riku reached his hand out. Sora quickly grasped it, squeezing reassuringly as Cloud put a bit more pressure to the wound. Cloud glanced over at Sora then spoke up. "Here, keep pressure over the wound while I row us back to shore." Sora nodded, using his free hand to press on the shirt as Cloud picked up the oars.

A few minutes later, Cloud was carrying Riku, running along the park path, Sora jogging along beside him as the others brought up the rear, Zexion making sure that Demyx and Namine kept up with the quick pace. Running, Sora glanced over at Riku then up at Cloud. "What are we going to do?"

"I'm calling an ambulance." Reaching into his shirt pocket, Cloud pulled out his cell phone. He almost stopped when he saw that the battery was dead. "What in the world?" He cursed when he nearly tripped over a protruding root, warning Sora about it one second before the teen would have stumbled over it. "Shit. Doesn't someone have a flashlight with them?"

"They're not working." Zexion spoke up. "I tried to turn one on as soon as you jumped into the lake. The intense spirit activity has apparently drained all electronic equipment. Even my watch stopped."

"Damn. I'm beginning to hate dealing with anything supernatural."

Demyx chuckled at Cloud's mutter. "You get used to it after a while."

Adjusting his hold on Riku, who was unfortunately both taller and heavier than Sora, maybe taller even than Cloud himself, Cloud stuffed his phone back into his pocket. "Well we have to get Riku to the hospital. Not to mention Roxas and Axel are already there."

"If they didn't take the van, we can use that." Zexion spoke up, giving Demyx a little push in the back as his boyfriend miss-stepped from his fatigue, Namine not faring much better beside him. "Our best plan would be to take him to the hospital ourselves."

Frowning, Cloud looked down at Riku; his face had seemed to pale even more if that was possible but it was clear he was loosing too much blood. He tisked. "Damn. I'm not sure how much longer he's going to last…"


	17. Chapter 16: Worth the Price

Ahahaha! More reviews!! :D It's amazing how in-depth some of the reviews are, it's always so much fun reading what you guys have to say! Like I've said before, sometimes they really make me think about I'm going to write next! You guys might not know it, but you do help to drive the plot! Thanks to all my reviewers, With a side of stereotype, bliss, vamprincessmiyu, key46812, Satsukifujin, chibi heishi, Dr3 Dr3 Murd3r3r, Jynxer120, Misz Lovely x0x, The female Sesshomaru, NightmareFairy, Kanpa, Magami no Shi, PyschoB, Mekishika, Aindel S. Druida, Smiley Smackdown, Lurel, Ivy J., -IvyBlonde-, Scootkadoot, EternalSketches, Twilight Emo Wind Goddess 801, Akachi, The Black Inferno Alchemist, O.Forgetful.O, XxSurrealAngelxX.

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Adjusting his hold on Riku, Cloud tried to keep up with Sora, the boy understandably eager to get back to the house so that they could drive to the hospital, his near run setting the pace for the rest of the tired group. Their house was in sight when Sora asked for what seemed to be the hundredth time in the last ten minutes. "How is he doing, Cloud?"

Cloud looked down at the teen in his arms, his voice punctured by panting as he tried to jog and come up with a diagnosis at the same time. "He still seems to be loosing some blood. Not as much. Still some though." Glancing over at Sora's horrified face, he added. "I'd consider that a good thing…It means his heart is still beating. But he's getting colder…"

Biting his lip, Sora turned his gaze back to the street ahead of them. They needed to get to the car. At least it was dark out. They probably would have caused a huge commotion if people were able to look out the window and see Cloud carrying a bleeding young man dressed up in vintage costuming. Not to mention that Sora himself was shirtless. At least the summer air was warm, even so late at night.

They were just a few yards from the house when Riku began to stir in Cloud's arms. He immediately caught Sora's attention as his silver brows furrowed, almost a whimper coming from his lips as the light in their parlor suddenly flickered on, the light cutting into the dark. Stopping in his tracks, Sora grabbed onto Cloud's sleeve, his breath hitching in his throat when the dark silhouette of a man passed by the window.

Cloud's electric blue eyes narrowed, his pace slowing, his hesitance allowing Demyx, Namine, and Zexion to catch up. Panting, Demyx waved his hand, leaning against his boyfriend as if Zexion's thin frame would be able to support his weight. "What's, what's going on? Car's right there!"

Sora was about to explain their actions when the front door to their house burst open, light from the entrance hall pouring out into the front yard. The doorway was empty, the only thing out of place being the pile of ceiling rubble a few feet inside the front door. Sucking in his breath, Sora tightened his grip on Cloud's sleeve, his whole body tense as he watched the open door.

"Okay, we just need to get to the car…" Demyx murmured, slowly inching around Cloud toward the driveway. Cloud nodded, taking a step toward the car when Sora let out a muffled shriek, quickly drawing his father's attention as Namine gasped. A black figure was now standing in their front door. Sora recognized him immediately and by Namine's shuddering breath she could sense the unmistakable rage radiating from him too. Biting his lip, Sora took an instinctive step back, pressing against Cloud and letting out a cry of surprise when he felt Cloud suddenly fall behind him.

Cloud didn't even know what hit him when his feet were pulled out from under him, Riku's body tumbling out of his grip. Biting back a shout as his knees hit the ground, Cloud twisted over to see two black shadows wrapped around his legs, their yellow eyes staring unblinkingly up at him. Kicking out at them, Cloud pushed Sora back as the teen ran to him, growling. "Sora, stay away!" He didn't protest though as Demyx ran over, the young man muttering a spell under his breath to dispel the shadows. Before he could finish though, three more rose out of the ground and immediately swarmed around him, a shriek from Namine alerting him that she also had been surrounded.

Looking around wildly at the shadows which now had them surrounded, Sora hurried over to Riku, finding the other teen somewhat awake. Taking his hand as Riku struggled into a sitting position, Sora looked up to see Xemnas's face split into that terrible grin before the spirit stepped back into the house and lifted his hand. Riku was suddenly ripped out of Sora's grasp, flying toward the house, his body jerking as if an invisible rope had been wrapped around his middle. Running after him, Sora ignored Cloud's shout for him to stop. He needed to help Riku. There was no way Xemnas was going to have him. Sora wouldn't let that happen.

Cloud couldn't do anything to stop Sora as the young teen rushed after Riku into the house. Every time he kicked the shadows only tightened their grip and inched up his leg more. Beside him, Demyx was having no better luck. Twisting around, he saw Zexion near Namine, the slate-haired young man struggling to reach into his messenger bag, fighting against the creature that was wrapped around his arm.

Finally though, Zexion's hand dipped down into the bag, pulling out another book and flipping it open, frantically leafing through it. A second later, his voice rose above the chaos of the attack. "_Deus, in nómine tuo salvum me fac, et virtúte tua age causam meam_."

Twisting around at the sound of Zexion's voice, Demyx's eyes widened and he called out worriedly. "Zexy, don't!"

Zexion blatantly ignored Demyx, continuing without interruption. "_Deus, audi oratiónem meam; áuribus pércipe verba oris mei_."

The shadows hissed, springing away from him, their noises of rage almost drowning out Zexion's voice before he raised his volume to meet theirs, his face set in an expression of firm concentration as he fought to keep his voice level. "_Ecce, Deus ádjuvat me, óminus susténtat vitam meam_."

Zexion continued and the shadows continued to retreat. Soon enough, Cloud felt the things around his legs loosen their grip and he kicked out again, this time sending the shadow creatures flying. Rolling onto his feet, he stood up shakily as Zexion finished the verse. "_Nam ex omni tribulatióne eripuit me, et inimícos meos confúsos vidit óculos meus. Glória Patri_."

At the last word, all the remaining shadows let out long shrieks than disappeared into the air. Demyx ran for his boyfriend as Zexion's legs suddenly gave out from under him, his brows furrowed as he pulled the shorter man into his arms. "Stupid! You didn't have to do that!"

"What did he do?" Cloud asked.

Namine shook her head. "Zexion was training to be a Catholic priest before we met him. What we just heard was one of the most powerful exorcism spells from the Church but Zexion isn't a sanctified exorcist, so he really shouldn't have recited it. It's completely drained him."

"But it's done its purpose." Zexion cut into their conversation, his eyes closed as he grimaced, battling a massive oncoming migraine. "If those were most of Xemnas's minions than he should be almost alone now, which will leave him much weaker." Sighing, he reached up to rest his hand on Demyx's head. "Idiot. I'm fine. You have to help Sora."

Cloud paled, reality hitting him as he turned back to the front door. That's right. While they had been out here fighting, Sora was stuck with a dying Riku and Xemnas inside the house. Shaking out his legs which were now covered in bleeding scratches and freezing cold, Cloud rushed to the front door. He turned the handle; fears confirmed when he found it to be locked. Reaching into his pocket, he pulled out the key but even with it the door remained stuck fast. Throwing the key away, Cloud took a step back then rammed the door with his shoulder. The wood shuddered in its frame but didn't do more than that. Growling, Cloud took another step back, shaking out his leg before he spun around, aiming a roundhouse kick at the door. He knew he it would break, the kick was certainly powerful enough. The wood however just splintered where his foot had connected, leaving no trace besides a small dent.

Letting out a breath of frustration, Cloud looked around the front porch for something useful. There was no way he was going to let Sora fight that thing on his own.

He jumped when he felt a sudden hand on his arm, spinning around to see Namine on the front step. "Cloud, calm down."

Cloud pushed passed her, shaking his head. "I can't, not while Sora's inside."

"I don't think Xemnas is going to let us into the house…!"

"I don't really care what he wants. Move."

Namine turned, letting out a squeak as she saw a large rock in Cloud's hands. He threw it as hard as he could at the parlor window but it merely bounced back off the glass, a black ripple coming from the point it made contact with.

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Leon almost jumped as his cell-phone rang in his back pocket. The nurse who had been checking on Roxas gave him a look as he flipped it open but he just returned the expression with a glare of his own, not caring if cell phones weren't allowed inside the hospital. "Hello?" He immediately recognized the voice on the other end, despite the fact that it was now more frantic than he had ever heard it. "Shit, Cloud, are you okay?"

Leon stood up, his blue-grey eyes widening with surprise as he shouted. "What?! What the hell's going on over there?"

The nurse looked at him with shock but, under another one of his glares, scurried out of the room.

Pacing the small room as Cloud gave him a short explanation, Leon glanced over to the bed. Seeing that Roxas was still asleep, he slipped outside into the hallway. The poor kid had been put on anesthetics and was still sleeping it off. His leg hadn't been broken, but the bone had cracked near enough to the knee to warrant surgery. Axel was slightly better off, his back not having been too badly injured but the hospital wanted to keep him for a few days to make sure that nothing further developed from the trauma.

Closing the door to Roxas's room behind him to keep out the noise, Leon brought his attention back to Cloud. "Have you tried kicking the door down?...Breaking the window? …How about the back door?...Damn." Pinching the bridge of his nose, Leon thought hard. "What about the upstairs windows?" A thought came to him. "Try Sora's window. Xemnas can't get into his room, right?" He rolled his eyes at Cloud's surprise. "Yes, I have been paying attention. Tell me what happens. Yah, good luck."

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Inside the house, Sora had found Riku just inside the parlor. Now that he had seen Riku's death, he recognized the spot as being the exact location where Riku had fallen from the bullet wound. A shiver went down Sora's spine as he walked tentatively over to Riku; Xemnas was no where in sight but that wasn't making him feel any more secure. Crouching down next to the silver-haired teen, Sora prodded his shoulder lightly, sighing with relief when Riku stirred under his touch. "Riku, Riku wake up!"

Riku's eyes fluttered open, their aqua color still startling since Sora had been used to the unexpressive light gray for so long. "…Sora?"

"Riku! Don't worry, I'm here."

"W-Where is he?"

"I don't know. I'm just happy you're okay!" Smiling, Sora reached down to touch Riku's cheek. "Now come on, we should get out so we can take you to the hospital!" Stooping over, Sora wrapped Riku's arms over his shoulders. "Can you lean on me, does it hurt?"

"Not so much. I'm afraid everything's slightly numb...!" Riku smiled, leaning his head against Sora's shoulder, the action making Sora blush a violent red. It wasn't a particularly intimate gesture but, actually, something about it sent shivers down his back. And not in a good way. Maybe it had just been the smile. It had been an oddly almost disturbing expression but that might understandably be because Riku was trying to deal with the pain of a bullet wound. He glanced up as Riku began talking again. "Still though, shouldn't you be a bit more concerned about where Xemnas is? I wouldn't want you to get hurt."

"Of course I'm worried but I'm more worried about you."

"You shouldn't be." Sora blinked when he felt Riku's arm snake around his neck. He let out a shout of surprise as he was suddenly thrown to the ground, staring up a second later at Riku leaning over him. His eyes widened as he looked up into Riku's eyes. They were completely black. He was possessed.

"Riku-" His voice was cut off as Riku's hand grabbed his throat. He couldn't breathe! Letting out a choked noise, he gasped, clutching at Riku's arm. "Ri-Riku!"

Riku's brow furrowed, his chest heaving as his fingers tightened then loosened around Sora's throat. Sora sucked in welcomed air in the second that Riku's grip loosened, his eyes widening as Riku grimaced. He looked as if he was fighting an internal battle, his hand going up to cover his face as his head dropped down, almost touching Sora's chest. His whole body was shaking, and Sora squeaked as the hand tightened around his throat again as Riku let out a snarl, the older teen beginning to mutter to himself.

Sora wasn't sure whether he should say anything or move. He couldn't really talk with Riku's hand on his throat so he decided to close his eyes and hold still. Riku was bigger than him. Even when weak from being wounded, he could still easily overpower Sora's smaller body. He felt the hand on his throat give a sudden jerk, Riku's muttering rising to an understandable level, "…no, I won't…Get out!" There was a loud gasp and the next second Riku's hands were on his cheeks, his voice slightly hoarse. "Sora, please say you're alright!"

Sora opened his eyes, nodding mutely before he wrapped his arms around Riku's chest, not caring if he was going to get blood on his own. Letting out a shuddering sigh of relief, Riku leaned his chin on the top of Sora's head. "Thank goodness. I don't know what I would have done…Not such a great first experience for getting my body back…But he's so angry…"

From his new location against Riku's chest, Sora could plainly hear the other's heartbeat, the rhythm weak and fluttering and reminding Sora just how much they needed to get out of the house. Pulling himself together, Sora swallowed, leaning away from Riku only far enough to stand up, once again wrapping one of Riku's arms around his shoulders. It was the only way he would be able to help support the taller boy.

They had moved only a few faltering steps toward the front door when Riku tensed, his breath faltering as the floorboards creaked behind him.

Sora really didn't want to look, sensing Xemnas's presence behind them, but he forced his body to twist around. Xemnas was at the end of the hall. Squeezing Riku's hand, Sora backed up a step, his eyes narrowing warily as Xemnas opened his mouth.

His voice was raspy and harsh, so loud that it rattled the walls. "You little brat, what have you done?!"

Sora flinched as Xemnas suddenly disappeared, his breath catching in his throat as he felt Riku shift, the silver-haired teen grunting in pain before he murmured curtly. "Quickly, we need to get you out!"

Sora nodded, turning them back around to face the door only to come face to face with Xemnas, the spirit's face just inches from his own. A scream of terror died in his throat as Riku was thrown back down the hall, skidding to a stop a few yards back. Sora felt himself seize up, unable to move as Xemnas stalked around him. "Do you know what you have done?" Xemnas snarled, the low hiss more terrifying than any angry screaming could have been. "You and your little group have completely destroyed my shadows and you think you can just steal your precious Riku out from under me? You think I would really let some rag-tag bunch of idiots undermine me after so many years?"

And suddenly Xemnas was gone again. Swallowing, Sora scanned the room nervously, jumping when he heard Riku's voice. "Sora, get out of the house." Turning, he saw that Riku had drawn himself up on to his elbows, one hand wrapped around his chest.

Riku could barely believe the pain he was in, after being free of it for so many years, it was distracting and he couldn't afford to be distracted right now. Seeing Sora's hesitance, Riku shook his head. "Sora, you need to leave. I won't," he grit his teeth, sucking back another wave of pain that seemed to come with each beat of his heart. "I'm not going to let anything happen to you. I'll try to distract him while you find a way out."

Sora looked away, biting his lip before shaking his head resolutely. "No. I'm staying Riku. I can't leave you here by yourself!"

"Such tender affection." Riku's eyes widened at the sound of Xemnas's voice, his gaze snapping over to the side as the small table against the wall a foot away from him began to rattle. A breath later the piece of furniture slid violently over, slamming into his body and pressing him against the opposite wall with a weight unnatural to its size.

Xemnas's voice boomed down from the ceiling, the framework of the house creaking and cracking at disturbingly loud volumes. "But Riku, you've now taken up the role of your father and as such I shall repeat myself. I have found a better way to give you the pain you deserve."

Grimacing, Riku fought against the table but it held him tight against the wall, Xemnas suddenly appearing beside Sora again. Sora stumbled a step back, yelping as Xemnas pinned him against the wall, the spirit's cruel golden eyes turning back to Riku. "So how should I do kill the boy? I could simply suck the life-force from him, but that seems too simple. I could possess you again and have you do the task. But wait, I have a better idea."

His gaze turned to the entrance to the kitchen and a moment later, a knife came out, flying into Xemnas's hand. "I'll kill him just as your father did me, a nice jab to the chest."

"No!" Riku shouted as Xemnas lifted the knife up to Sora's chest. Xemnas grinned, the white smile splitting his face again as Riku pressed hard against the table. "Xemnas, stop! Don't you dare!"

Xemnas wasn't stopping though and Riku could only watch in horror as the knife pressed against Sora's chest, the smaller boy gasping and wincing as a drop of blood welled up. Pounding against the table, Riku slammed his fists against it; he needed to save Sora. Sora wasn't going to die, it wasn't an option. Sora let out another cry of pain, the noise filling Riku's senses and with one last shout, he pounded on the table again. At that last hit, the table suddenly flew away, freeing Riku from the wall.

Riku scrambled onto his feet, looking up into Xemnas's surprised face. His aqua eyes narrowed, "Let him go Xemnas."

The surprise quickly fell into a snarl, the knife pressing harder against Sora's skin, breaking the skin more, the trickle of blood increasing. "Who are you to tell me what to do?"

Throwing out his hand, Riku sent Xemnas flying to the other side of the hall. "I'm Riku Miyuno." He walked over to Sora, blocking the smaller teen's body. "And I'm saying you've done enough in this house. Get out."

Xemnas snarled, taking a step toward them before the grin split his face again and he chuckled darkly. "Don't get so high and mighty. The only reason you still have any power is because you're still in my influence. Why do you think you're still standing? With all that blood loss, with that bullet in your chest." Taking another step forward, Xemnas loomed over them. "You get rid of me and you're going to collapse and die."

Riku's eyes narrowed further and he ignored Sora who was tugging on his arm. He didn't want to die but he wasn't about to let Xemnas continue to exist in this world. Not when he knew the family that was now living in his house. Not when he knew that Sora would have to live with it. Swallowing, he shook his head. "It's a chance I'll have to take. We don't belong in this time, Xemnas. Neither of us, but certainly not you." He turned his head slightly, addressing Sora as well this time. "Even if I do die, I know that I have died to get rid of you, Xemnas, and that will be worth it."

Stepping up, he lifted his chin, his face set into a defiant expression as he faced of Xemnas. "So now I want you out." Xemnas's scowl hardened, black shadows growing around his form but Riku continued as if oblivious. "I've had enough, Ansem. Get out of my house."

Xemnas jerked back, the scowl flickering on his face as the black shadows grew. He still kept his gaze locked with Riku's though, the teen meeting the stare with a hard glare of his own. Sora blinked, suddenly noticing that Xemnas was now at his eye level. The spirit apparently noticed it too because he released a terrible snarl.

"You can't do this, Miyuno! I will come back and I will kill all of you."

A triumphant smirk fluttered across Riku's lips, his chin lifting more almost in arrogance, the expression making his face look more dignified than conceited. "No, you won't. You're going to hell."

Xemnas let out a final snarl before he sunk into the ground, the shadows twisting around the spot he had disappeared before dissipating into the air.

Letting out a breath he didn't even know he had been holding, Sora reached forward for Riku only to have the older teen crumple under her touch. Gasping, Sora crouched down. "Riku! Riku, wake up!"

Sora looked up as he heard a loud crash, surprised to hear Cloud's voice echoing from upstairs. "The door gave this time, I'm going inside!"

He held still as feet thundered down the stairs, shaking with relief as Cloud sprinted down to the first floor. His father looked around, quickly spotting Sora and Riku slumped down on the ground and running over. He wrapped his arms around Sora, unable to pull him completely into his hold because Sora still had a strong grasp on Riku. Closing his eyes in relief, Cloud ran a hand through Sora's spikes. "It's going to be okay, Sora."

Sora shook his head, tears beginning to trail down his cheeks. "No it's not. Riku's going to die now."

"No he won't. We can still save him." Sniffing, Sora relinquished Riku's body into Cloud's arms, wiping his tears away and following his father as Cloud headed for the front door. "The other's are outside and Demyx has the car ready. We'll speed the entire way."


	18. Chapter 17: Home Again

Last chapter?! Aye, tis true. But it's been good! Mostly because of all of the reviews, you people are awesome. And you kept me writing! Yay! And as for Xemnas's "death," ya, it was quiet but who says he actually died? Bwhahahaha! :D Ahem, just keep reading. Oh, and responding to kishaz's question (which I think other's have asked), lol, I might have a little experience, but not much. Which freaked me out when I learned that people with actual nursing knowledge and whatnot were reading this story. No, my expertise falls into the grand category of art history. Unfortunately, this story does not need to use that knowledge, so I've been stuck doing an ittle bit of research. But I've always found that a tiny bit of research goes a long way in making stories seem more substantial. Anyway, thanks so much to my reviewers! You are my gods and I bow humbly before you: Magami no Shi, Murd3r4lyf3, Aindel S. Druida, bliss, With a side of stereotype, XxSurrealAngelxX, Kanpa, yasu-yasu, Ivy J., Jynxer120, Lurel, O.Forgetful.O, Smiley Smackdown, Scootkadoot, Tinker16, NightmareFairy, key46812, The Black Inferno Alchemist, Misz Lovely x0x, vamprincessmiyu, -IvyBlonde-, Artistic18, Muchacha, chibi heishi, kishaz, Twilight Emo Wind Goddess 801, Kuroneko Hikage.

And just to let you know, I'll write an epilogue if you guys can get me up to **315 reviews**! You'll have to let me know if you want one after you finish this chapter! Go readers, go!

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Early morning: 20 July 2007

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As soon as they had reached the emergency room, Riku had been whisked beyond the double doors that led into the surgery rooms. After he left, the only thing Sora could do was clutch onto Cloud, hanging on the blonde man's arm as Cloud caught sight of a nurse he knew and asked for the number to both Roxas and Axel's rooms. The nurse instantly recognized him and led him over to the desk to look up the information. Demyx, Namine, and Zexion hung back, not wanting to crowd the front desk, sitting down in the fortunately empty emergency room.

While waiting for Cloud to get the information, Zexion let out a small sigh and leaned over onto Demyx's shoulder, closing his eyes. It felt as if they had been sprinting all night, his heart was just beginning to calm now that everything was finally in the control of others. He cracked an eye open when the voice of a woman hit his ears, looking up to see a nurse looking at the three of them with concern. "Do you need assistance?"

Zexion's eyebrows furrowed and he shook his head, straightening up as Demyx provided a more polite response. "No thanks, we're fine! We're just waiting for our friend."

The nurse gave them a look before she pursed her lips then nodded. "Well all right but you three look like you could get some rest yourself."

Demyx waved her off as Zexion rubbed his temples, his migraine just beginning to subside from his earlier recitations. However all three stood up as Cloud and Sora walked over to them. "Riku's been taken into surgery. Axel and Roxas are upstairs in the Outpatient Department, they're in rooms near each other so we can go up together."

"But Cloud…"

Cloud looked down at Sora, his face falling as he noted his son's anxious expression. "Sora, there's nothing we can do for Riku now. The surgeons are going to do all they can, but we have to let them work, okay?"

"I, I know, I just…he was so still in the car. I don't know what would happen if he died, not after everything he went through." He quieted as Cloud put a hand on his head, the comforting gesture much needed. Biting his lip, he nodded then looked up to Cloud. "I know, they'll do their best. Can we go see Roxas now?"

Nodding, Cloud ushered them through the hospital. He had remembered to grab his identification card before they had driven Riku to the hospital and was able to quickly navigate through the building, swiping his card to get into the Outpatient Department without needing to sign in first.

The rooms were easy to find, each door in the hall labeled with the name of their patient if they were occupied. Sora had finally pulled away from Cloud as they walked down the hall, his concern for his brother speeding his steps. Finding the one with "Roxas Strife" written on it, Sora burst in, startling Leon who had been dozing in a chair he had pulled up to the bedside. The room was small; there was only one bed, the only added furniture was two chairs and a small cabinet group on the opposite wall from the bed. There was one window but the blinds were closed since it was technically nighttime, or at least very early in the morning.

When he saw who it was that had burst into the room, Leon settled back down, reaching up to run a hand through his hair as Sora ran over to Roxas's side. "Mn, can't believe I drifted off…How did everything go?"

Cloud sighed, sitting down on the arm of the chair, smiling a little despite the situation as Leon laced his arm around his waist. "Well enough I suppose. Riku is in surgery for his bullet wound…apparently he drove Xemnas out of the house. I don't know exactly what happened, Sora was the only one who was in the house at the time…" They both looked over at Sora, watching as he took a moment to drag the second chair in the room over to Roxas's other side, the teen sitting across from his parents. Sighing, Cloud reached down to squeeze the hand around his waist. "I should probably put my scrubs on. I'll be able to check on Riku in his post-operation room that way. How is Roxas by the way?"

"He's fine. Your supervising doctor, Valentine, personally oversaw his treatment."

"Damn, I bet Vincent thinks I owe him now. It does make me feel a little better though, after all he's the best the hospital has to offer."

A groggy voice butted into their conversation. "…And frickin' creepy lookin'…" Leon straightened up as Sora grinned happily, grabbing his little brother's hand as Roxas blinked sleepily, looking at all of them before wincing. "How long have I been out for?"

"Not too long. Only a few hours," Leon replied, putting a hand on the young teen's shoulders as Roxas tried to pull himself into a sitting position. "You're leg's still recovering from surgery so try and keep it still."

"My leg?" Roxas blinked again, looking down at his cast-bound leg before he scowled. "A cast? Are you serious? I have to wear a stupid cast? It wasn't hurt that bad."

Sora's grin widened. "Roxas is back to normal!"

Turning his head, Roxas stared at Sora for a moment then suddenly sprang into a sitting position, pulling his brother down for a tight hug. "Sora you're awake! You're okay now, right?"

Sora nodded, his smile softening as he heard Roxas give a shaky sigh of relief. "I'm fine." His voice lowered a little. "Riku saved me. Demyx and Namine, they brought him back with me. He's back in his body now."

Roxas pulled away, his eyes wide with surprise at the news for a moment before he shook his head, letting out a weak but real chuckle. "Great. I'll be able to kick his ass for scaring me now."

Rolling his eyes, Cloud stood up. "Your leg was hurt bad enough, I don't think you'll be doing any ass kicking for a while. And Leon's right in saying you shouldn't move it, though I'm sure that will matter more once your pain medication has worn off. Now, if you're going to be okay here on y-"

"Cloud what the hell happened to _your_ legs?"

Cloud looked down. The scratches that those shadows had made were just starting to bleed all the way through the fabric of his pants. He frowned as Leon hopped out of his seat, the other man forcing him into the chair. "Really, Leon it's not that bad-Ow!" he gave a quiet hiss of pain as Leon crouched down and began to roll one of his pant legs up, revealing groups of long scratches running the entire length of his lower leg. "Leon, stop, it's fine."

Leon frowned, his stormy eyes dark as he looked up at his husband. "What, so you're the only one who can bother someone about 'silently bleeding out?' This needs to get looked at Cloud."

"I was going to say something, just when all this drama was over. Don't give me that look." He rolled his eyes as Leon's gaze failed to waver then waved his hand toward the cabinets on the far side of the room. "Fine. There should be some antiseptic and gauze in the lower right cabinet."

Leon nodded, walking over to the cabinet's as Roxas looked at Cloud with concern. "Are you okay?"

"I'm fine."

Roxas bit his lip for a moment before asking in a quieter voice. "How's Axel?"

Cloud blinked then smiled softly. "Axel's fine. He's only a room or two over and the others are visiting him now. He'll be fine though, from what I heard at the front desk he only suffered minor back stress and should be out of the hospital in a day or two. Same time as you with any luck." He swallowed a small grunt of pain that threatened to escape when Leon began to wipe his scratches down with the antiseptic he had found, still feeling himself twitch a bit at the sting. Nonetheless, he accepted the roll of gauze from Leon, the police-officer well aware that Cloud would have better knowledge on how to properly dress a wound. Within a few minutes, he had wrapped up all the scratches and the stinging had died down. Apparently satisfied, Leon let him go out of the room to change into his scrubs without another word of protest.

As he was leaving the room, Cloud glanced back at Sora. "I'll try to find out everything I can about Riku's condition. I'll come back once I have some definitive news, okay?" He paused then smiled almost slyly at Roxas. "Maybe I'll even check up on Axel before I come back."

Roxas scowled, crossing his arms as Cloud left, muttering, "I don't get what that was supposed to mean…"

It was a few hours before Cloud came back and the sun was just beginning to glow behind the closed blinds. Sora had found himself dozing off despite his concern for Riku's uncertain future, the night's activities finally beginning to take its toll on him. Roxas was flitting in and out of sleep as well, though he had managed to stay awake the whole time Demyx, Namine, and Zexion had briefly visited the room.

Roxas was asleep though when Cloud returned but Sora instantly perked up as did Leon who was in the middle of checking his phone messages to keep himself occupied. He snapped his phone shut though as Cloud captured his attention, the blond smiling grimly. "The surgery was a success." He held up his hand when he saw that Sora was about to cheer. "They were able to take out the bullet and patch him back together but Riku's lost a lot of blood. Apparently he was also not only extremely dehydrated but he also showed signs of malnutrition."

"He's been dead for the past hundred years. Of course he hasn't eaten or drank anything!" Sora argued, immediately coming to Riku's defense.

"I know that. And I can take you to see him but I wanted to say that he'll undoubtedly look worn in your eyes. It might be better if you just waited until he was in a more stable condition. He's been put in the ICU and he's been hooked up to a lot of machines."

Sora frowned, getting to his feet. "Which is why I need to be there. If he wakes up he won't know what's going on. I want there to be something familiar for him."

Nodding, Cloud smiled a little. "I thought you'd say that. Leon, do you mind watching Roxas for a while by yourself?" Leon shook his head and Cloud turned back to Sora. "Alright. Come on, it's a bit of a walk from here."

Sora followed Cloud out of the room and down a twisting number of halls. He kept close to Cloud as they began to get more crowded; more staff around so late at night only as they got near the emergency rooms and Intensive Care Unit, feeling a little out of place in his regular street clothes. At least he had managed to pull a shirt on before they had left for the hospital.

Cloud finally stopped at one of the rooms, talking low so that only Sora could hear. "Luckily they seemed to have realized that Riku is somewhat of a special case after they pulled a civil war era bullet from his chest. He has got his own room so we won't be bothering anyone else at this time. I can't imagine the questions we'll be getting soon though…" His voice trailed off as he pushed the door open, stepping to the side so Sora could tiptoe into the room.

Sora swallowed thickly as he caught sight of Riku lying on the hospital bed. The other teen was hooked up to monitoring equipment, the steady beeps of his weak heartbeat filling the silence as Sora crept over to his side. His skin looked paler than from when he had last seen it, his chest just barely rising and falling under the thin sheets. His closed eyes didn't make his face appear peaceful or even exhausted, just strangely blank. He looked closer to death than Sora had ever seen him before, IV and rest of the things he was hooked up to just emphasizing his current condition.

He reached out hesitantly, asking Cloud quietly. "Can, can I touch him?"

"Sure." Cloud gently replied, a sad smile crossing his lips. "You can even hold his hand if you want."

Sora nodded, immediately but delicately taking Riku's hand in his. It was a little bigger than his own, the elegant pale fingers making Sora's own hand look almost childish. Sora gave the hand a light squeeze, smiling weakly as he addressed the unconscious teen. "Guess what, Riku? I think, I think you're going to be okay! And once you wake up and get better I'll be able to show you around the city. I think you'll really like going downtown, they've kept a lot of the old buildings there. We could even go to the movies or something," he chuckled, "Of course we might want to get you used to regular TV first…" His voice trailed off at Riku's lack of response, his forced smile slipping off his face as he watched Riku sleep. Cloud hung back at the door, watching his older son before he let out a sigh. With luck, Riku would recover quickly.

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26 July 2007

Six days had passed since they had come to the hospital. Both Roxas and Axel had been able to check out after the second day. Roxas was still in a cast, he'd been told that he'd have to wear it for at least another month or so. He'd been the most irritated about the fact that he was going to be hobbling around on crutches for that time period, and had immediately started complaining about how his skateboarding skills were going to get rusty. Axel fortunately had not been so hindered, although he was going to have a sore back for a while.

Riku's condition however, seemed to be getting worse. He had woken up the day Roxas and Axel had checked out, not fully conscious but aware enough to have been thrown off by his new surroundings. He had been soothed to find Sora beside him however, the other teen having hardly left his side.

It had seemed that he had been getting better. He wasn't eating much but the fact that he was eating on his own was a good sign. He was talking with Sora and had even withstood the presence of the other Strife family members who had for the moment buried their questions and had only quietly but comfortably sat with him. In fact he was going to be moved out of the ICU until the fifth day, when his condition took a sudden turn for the worse. He had stopped eating and spent most of the day in a deep sleep, though when he was awake he was jumpy and wouldn't tolerate any large shadows in the room.

Now it was the sixth day, and no one was more confused or worried than Sora. Coming back from a quick lunch break, he smiled as happily as he could when he saw that Riku was awake, offering the pale teen a cup of pudding he had brought from the cafeteria. "You should try it, Riku. It's chocolate, I bet you'd love it!"

Letting out a chuckle that sounded more like a weak cough, Riku shook his head, his eyes drifting over to the window. "No thank you, I'm not really that fond of sweet things."

Sora pouted, "But everyone likes chocolate!" Seeing that his attempt at bringing some life into Riku had basically failed, he frowned, sitting down next to the bedside. Setting the pudding cup down on the bedside table, he reached out and took Riku's hand, his frown deepening when Riku started at the touch. "Riku…what's happening to you? You're getting worse but Cloud said the doctors thought that your surgery went really good." Riku closed his eyes and Sora tightened his grip on the other's hand, his voice beginning to tremble with the fear and worry he had kept bottled up for the most part until now. Lowering his head, he leaned it against the low rail on the hospital bed, unable to look his crush in the eyes. "You have to tell me what's going on. You don't have to suffer alone, if you have an idea about what's going on you should tell me. I, I don't want to loose you after everything that's happened."

"Please don't cry, Sora…" Sora sniffed, not even realizing he had been crying until Riku's hand slipped out of his grip to wipe the tears away from his cheeks. Looking up, he saw that Riku's silver brows were furrowed, his head tilted to the side as if he was trying to figure out how to put a complicated idea into words. "Lately, I've been having dreams of the house. It's, it's all I can think about, it is as if the thoughts are flooding my mind, demanding that I return to the house." He massaged his temple with his free hand, his eyes fluttering closed for a moment. "I don't know, I just feel so weak...I can't eat, I can barely put a coherent thought together. It feels as if I'm falling apart from the inside out."

Concerned, Sora leaned forward. "We'll get you back to the house. You'll be okay then, right?"

"I don't know, possibly." He shook his head in dry amusement. "Life stopped making sense a century or so back." His eyes closed again; it was obvious to both of them that he was beginning to be pulled back into sleep. "I just know that everything is screaming at me to get home. We're so far from it…"

His voice trailed off and Sora bit his lip, watching Riku for a moment before he stood up. "Don't worry, Riku. I'll make sure you get home. I can get Cloud and he'll figure out what to do."

Finding Cloud was harder than he thought it would be. The man had begun to work again after it seemed like Riku would be in the hospital for long term. After all, he was going to be in the hospital anyway, why not earn some money instead of sitting around unable to do anything? Finally after begging a few of the more sympathetic nurses for information, he tracked Cloud down to Dr. Valentine's office where Cloud was talking to his supervising doctor about one of their cases.

Knocking hesitantly on the door, Sora peeked into the dark room. He had to admit, Cloud had been working with Dr. Valentine for a long time, but the man still creeped him out. He never smiled. And he had red eyes. But somehow Cloud along with him well enough. Edging inside the room when said doctor caught sight of him and told him to come inside, Sora walked over to Cloud, pulling on his sleeve urgently. "Cloud, I was just talking to Riku and I think I know what's wrong with him."

"Did he say something?" Cloud asked, giving Dr. Valentine an apologetic look as he broke off their conversation.

Sora nodded. "He said that he needed to go home."

"Sora, he's in no condition to leave the hospital, much less to go back to the house."

"But he has to go back! I think he'll die if he doesn't! If you're worried about the house we can call Axel and the others and have them come back with us to make sure it's safe." Sora frowned as Cloud's face turned uncertain. "He really did say that he needs to go home."

Cloud sighed, "I believe you, I just don't know how we're going to get him out of intensive care with him in the state that he is. I'm not exactly qualified to move a patient out of the ICU."

"I am though."

Cloud turned to the pale doctor who had until now listened in silently. "You would do that?"

Vincent shrugged, his low voice holding what might have been a touch of amusement at Cloud's blatant shock. "You're almost a doctor yourself and I've known you long enough to trust your judgment. This is Riku Miyuno you're talking about, correct?" Cloud nodded dumbly. They had seen no problem in using Riku's real name since history had long since forgotten his story. "I'll sign him out. But in return I want you to work all the free clinic hours I was allotted this week."

Cloud winced at the thought but nodded anyway; he supposed it would be worth the trade off. He shook Vincent's outstretched hand. "You have a deal. Thanks, Vincent."

"Don't mention it." Vincent stood up, pulling his long black hair back as he moved to the door. He paused a moment, looking over his shoulder at them with a serious expression. "Really, don't. If the supervisor hears of this we'll both be in trouble. I'll alert you when Riku's ready to leave."

He left the room without a whisper of a sound. As soon as he was out of sight, Sora shivered. "He still creeps me out."

"But he's still sticking his neck out for us. I only hope Riku knew what he was talking about."

They were able to get Riku out with surprising ease. Apparently very few people questioned Vincent's orders because half an hour after he had left, Cloud had gotten a pager call from Vincent's number. When he and Sora got to the room, Riku had already been moved into a wheelchair. Sora was inwardly thankful that all the heart monitoring wires and IVs were off him, he hadn't liked seeing Riku like that.

Without a second's hesitation, Cloud took control of the chair and quickly led them out of the hospital, talking low to Sora as if worried that they were going to be stopped by someone and told to return the sick boy to his bed. "I've already called Leon. He should have picked up Roxas from Hayner's by now and they should have gotten home." While Sora was at the hospital watching over Riku, Roxas had been spending most of his time as his friends' houses, understandably still wary about being left in their house alone. "I also called Axel. They're going to come as soon as they can but the college campus is on the other side of the city. He said that the house should be okay though and mentioned something about bringing someone over to meet Riku."

Sora nodded, trotting along beside the wheelchair, every second or so glancing down at Riku who seemed to be fighting to stay awake. Getting him into the car was a little difficult and awkward but with Cloud doing most of the work they were able to get him situated, Sora choosing to sit next to him in the back seat to stay near him during the drive back home. The trip was a quiet one and slightly tense; Cloud internally berating himself for taking a sick patient out of a hospital and Sora just worried about Riku's condition.

As they got closer and closer to their home though, Riku seemed to slowly improve. By the time they pulled into the driveway, he was nearly fully awake, his breathing also a little easier as Leon, who had been watching through the parlor windows, came out to help them inside. Sora could only watch from the side as they helped Riku stand up, noting the light pink mortification that had spread across Riku's cheeks at the idea of needing help walking only a couple of steps. Neither teen said anything though and Sora ran ahead to meet Roxas who was standing in the front door.

Frowning, Roxas leaned against his brother's side for a bit of support as he adjusted his crutches. "You think this is going to work?"

"I don't know. I hope so."

Roxas sighed, nudging his older brother comfortingly. "Me too."

They both watched as Riku walked and was half-carried onto the front porch, scooting aside to make room for them as they came into the house. Riku took a deep breath of what sounded like relief as he reached out and touched the door frame with shaky fingers; it had been the strongest breath he had taken in a week and caused Cloud to pause with surprise.

For Riku, it felt like a weight had been suddenly lifted away from him. He still felt bad, and his chest still hurt from its wound, but he felt better. For the last few days it had felt as if he was slowly being stretched to his limit, like a rubber band that was only now able to relax once he stepped inside the house. Brushing Leon and Cloud off, though nonetheless thankful for their assistance, he tested his balance on his own feet, his eyes opening a long moment to look for Sora. "Could we go up to my old room?"

Sora glanced at Cloud before nodding hesitantly. He wasn't going to say it, but Riku barely looked as if he could climb one stair, not to mention an entire staircase. "Sure, I guess."

As if reading Sora's mind, though really just seeing his thoughts reflected in his expression, Riku smirked a little. "Don't worry. I think I have enough stamina to make it up to the second floor."

"Okay…" Sora pouted, "But if you collapse I'm not going to be able to hold you up."

"Then I'm certainly going to make it all the way up. Come on."

Sora followed Riku up the stairs, matching the other's slow but determined pace. Sora was thankful that the rest of his family was going along with everything; of course, they had seen enough in the last month that they now probably knew just not to question some things. Although Riku had to catch his breath at the top of the stairs, they had indeed been able to make it up in a good amount of time.

Once they had reached Sora's bedroom, Riku walked over to the window seat, sitting down carefully. Sora waited until he was settled before taking a seat next to him, tilting his head to the side as he looked up at Riku. "So, are you feeling better?"

"Infinitely." Riku's aqua gaze fell on him as a small smile touched his lips. "I would thank you except I realize that I remember that I haven't thanked you for bringing me back to life in the first place."

Sora blushed, stuttering as he struggled to find words. "Well, i-it wasn't just me. Demyx and Namine did most of it. I, I barely did anything."

Riku's smile softened a bit and he leaned down. "Sora, you did more for me than anyone ever has. You never once let go, not even when I tried to push you away. You're nothing less than an angel."

Now completely red, Sora fumbled to think of a reply to that. "I, um, I'm not that special, I-" he was stopped as Riku leaned down to close the gap between them, pressing their lips gently together. Sora's body froze in shock, his eyes wide as Riku pulled away, the other's face slightly uncertain.

"I'm sorry, was I being presumptuous?"

Sora gasped then shook his head quickly before he threw his arms around Riku's shoulders, pressing their lips back together. Although rushed, the kiss was gentle and tender, and Sora could only give a happy murmur as he finally felt Riku's arms wrap around him, his hands moving up to run through Riku's silver hair. Pulling away after a long moment, Riku pecked Sora's forehead, holding him close. Fighting back the urge to giggle, Sora closed his eyes happily, avoiding Riku's wounded chest as he enjoyed the sound of his heartbeat.

He felt as if he could be comfortable as they were now for hours but they were interrupted by a call from downstairs. "Sora, a car just pulled up!"

"O-Okay!" Pouting, Sora slowly pulled away from Riku to shout back acknowledgement, looking up at Riku before a dark blush spread across his face as he realized that the older teen had actually returned his feelings and had indeed just kissed him. The exceedingly handsome ghost that he had had a crush on him had just kissed him!

Smirking at the other's expression, Riku tilted his head to the side. "Now what's that look for?"

"U-Um, you, you kissed me."

Grinning, Riku leaned down, resting his forehead against Sora's. "And you returned the gesture. And I must admit if you would let me I wouldn't mind trying it again some time." His grin widened as Sora's blush deepened. "But shouldn't you be going to greet your guests?"

Sora looked at the bedroom door then shrugged. "It's just Axel and the others."

Riku smiled, pulling Sora back against him as they listened to the murmur of talking from downstairs. There was an unvoiced desire for contact between the two, personally Sora didn't think he would ever get enough of the sensation of actually being able to touch the other. He definitely would never take it for granted.

He didn't hear people coming upstairs until Riku mentioned it. "Someone's coming to see us." There was an unspoken question as to whether or not Sora wanted to pull away from the intimate position but Sora only clung to him tighter.

There was a moment of quiet before the door suddenly slammed open, banging against the wall. Sora shrieked with surprise at the sight of a stranger in the door, gasping with surprise as Riku instinctually pulled him out of harm's way, his hand flying up in a wave to force the door closed. The door trembled as if it was going to move but the stranger slammed his hand against it, keeping it to the wall as he took in the sight of them as they did the same to him. The man was wearing a long red coat with a high collar, his black hair cut short and his eyes sharp and almost cold.

He stared at them for a moment, his eyes boring into them before he finally turned his head to speak into the hall. "You were right with your suspicions, the boy is still attached to the supernatural world."

A familiar blazing red head poked over the man's shoulder, Axel's laugh filling the room. "Jeez, looks like you went and scared them half to death! Good job scaring the children as usual." Squeezing past the man, Axel waved lazily at Riku. "Hey, you really do look like Namine's drawing. Guys, this guy is that specialist we were telling you about. His name is Auron and he might look scary but that's only because he doesn't know how to smile."

Auron's dark eyes settled on Riku. Riku held his gaze defiantly, lifting his chin as Sora settled against him. After a long moment, Auron looked away, his eyes drifting around the room before he looked at Axel. "I'll need to take a tour of the house before reaching any conclusions."

Axel nodded, waving his arm toward the door. "Then come right this way. Not too much more to see."

The two left as quickly as they had come. Sora looked at Riku before standing up, offering his hand to the pale teen. "Come on, I think we'd better find out what's going on."

Riku sighed then nodded, taking Sora's hand and following him out into the hallway. They gravitated toward where the most voices were coming from, heading downstairs to the parlor. Sitting down next to Roxas, Sora looked back as Riku walked behind the couch, leaning against the wall. He was a little curious, but he remembered back to when Riku was a ghost and hated having strangers in the house. Maybe he didn't like it that Auron had appeared so suddenly. He certainly looked a little defensive still.

After a few long moments, Auron came back downstairs, Axel following behind him, still grinning from the shock Auron had given the two younger teens. Auron crossed his arms, his eyes settling on Demyx, Namine, and Zexion who had the decency to look a little sheepish as he started talking. "Well, I wished that you would have waited for me before everything happened. But, from what I have seen, you did a surprisingly good job. Demyx, Namine, I suppose that that shoddy example of a resurrection was done on accident?"

Sora frowned as the man gestured to Riku, quickly coming to his defense. "Hey, you can't talk about Riku like that!"

Auron looked down at him then shrugged. "I meant no offense to…Riku, was it? It's just a bit of a predicament. As you already know, Riku was not brought back on purpose. He wasn't properly separated from the supernatural world; he still has a bit of latent power and it seems as if, from what I have heard, he is also tied to this house. As he was in death, he is connected to his property and it seems as if he will not be able to leave it for long periods of time without suffering for it."

There was a silence in the room as the information sank in. Demyx and Namine looked at each other with guilty expressions. Riku swallowed, looking down at his shoes for a moment before he spoke up quietly. "I don't hold it against them for bringing me back, even if it was not properly done. I have been able to enjoy myself more in the past week than I have in a hundred years." Sora couldn't help but blush at this, making Roxas's eyes narrow suspiciously but the younger blond kept quiet as Riku continued. "But I need to know, I told Xemnas to get out of the house and it seemed like he did disappear, but what truly happened to him?"

Auron frowned thoughtfully, laying his hand on the wall before he answered. "I've been briefed by the others about the details of the case and I think that if you demanded that he leave the house first, then that is what he did. He won't ever come back to this house but he isn't completely gone from this world. But you shouldn't worry about him, without his shadow minions or the power he received from having control over you, he will be nothing more than an ordinary ghost, easily dealt with."

Nodding thoughtfully, Riku pursed his lips, looking back to the ground as Axel clapped his hands together. "Well, that's been settled. Ya, we goofed up with Riku but he's happy enough and there's nothing we could really do about it anyway."

Cloud looked up at Riku then turned to Leon, nudging him lightly. Leon sighed, taking Cloud's hand. "I guess it can't be helped then. We'll have to make room for another teenager in the house…God, the thought of all the paperwork we'll need to fill out for him is already giving me a headache."

Cloud smirked. "But what will we call him? Sora's live-in boyfriend maybe?"

Sora's face turned bright red. "Cloud!"

Leon crossed his arms. "Sora and Roxas will have to move back into the same room. Only adults are allowed to have sex in this house."

This time both Sora and Riku turned red, Riku clearing his throat awkwardly as Roxas sent a warning glare back at him, Sora only able to let out a squeak in his embarrassment. Chuckling, Cloud shook his head. It was going to be a crowded house, but he had a feeling that everything would work out.


	19. Epilogue

Lol, never again will I underestimate the power of the last chapter. You crazy dudes passed by my measly 315 review marker the same day it was posted! But a promise was a promise, so here's the epilogue as best as I can think it. It's kinda short, but epilogues always are. On a side note, to all who reminded me of my AxelRoxas label on the front summery…I just figure Roxas is still 14, a little too young for Axel. You'll be seeing more action from them in the sequel, um, I mean…did I say sequel? Eh heh. :D In any case, you'll have to wait a bit for that dudes, at least until after finals!

With no further ado, here's the epilogue you rightfully earned!

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Some 5 months later…

Sora woke up to the now-familiar sight of his brother's spiky blond hair. Rubbing his eyes, he sat up a bit, glancing at the clock to see that they still had a some time left until they had to get ready for school. By the muffled noises coming from the kitchen downstairs, Sora guessed that either Leon or Cloud was cooking breakfast. A hot meal was rare in their hectic mornings but very much appreciated when someone bothered to get up early enough to make it.

With a sigh, Sora nudged Roxas to wake him up then slid out of bed, pulling the sleeve of his oversized nightshirt back onto his shoulder as he stumbled out into the hall to head to the bathroom. He stopped in his tracks though when he saw that the door to the bedroom that used to belong to Roxas was still closed. That meant that Riku was still asleep.

Grinning, Sora padded over to the door, biting his lip as he pressed against the door to test it he could open it without it creaking.

"Sora, what are you doing?"

Sora turned, shushing Roxas who was leaning against their door frame and looking blearily at him with sleepy suspicion. "Shh! I think Riku stayed up late last night reading again. He's still asleep."

Rolling his eyes, Roxas pushed past him. "Then you should let him sleep…"

"You know he hates missing breakfast. And it actually sounds like we're having a real one today!"

"Do what you want, I don't care as long as it gives me time to shower first."

Sora grinned, waving Roxas off before carefully pushing the door to Riku's bedroom open. Riku had chosen to stay in Roxas's old room not only because it was the smaller of the two but also understandably because he was a little sick of his old bedroom. It was the best attempt he could manage to start anew with the restricting conditions.

His grin softened into a warm smile when he saw that Riku was indeed still asleep, somehow managing to look graceful and handsome even when sprawled out on the bed with books piled around him. Tiptoeing into the room, Sora crept over to the bed, reaching out a hand to brush a stray strand of silver hair away from the other's face.

Riku had been pushing himself during the past few months to catch up on all the education that was now demanded in the modern world. Their plan was to have him later take the kind of test equivalent to a high school exit exam that kids who were home-schooled took so that he would be able to pursue a higher education. It was Sora's secret hope that they might be able to go to the city's community college together. Although he was never going to ask Riku to spend another week out of the house like what had happened in the hospital, they had found that Riku could comfortably leave the house for a few hours at a time, just not for extended time periods of more than a few days.

Pulled out of his thoughts as Riku shifted in his sleep, Sora leaned down, pausing for a moment before shyly pecking Riku on the cheek. "Riku, wake up. Breakfast is almost ready."

Riku's brow furrowed, his eyes fluttering open at the sound of Sora's voice. When he caught sight of Sora above him, he smiled sheepishly and ran his hand over his face. "Hn, how long have I slept in?"

"Not too long. Roxas is taking a shower anyway."

Riku nodded, propping himself up onto his elbows and looking around at the books lying on the bed around him before sighing. "I stayed up far too long last night. I should really learn to look at the clock more often."

"Do you need more sleep?"

"No, I'm fine. Thank you for the wake up by the way."

Sora flushed lightly as Riku leaned up and pressed his lips against his forehead. He was still getting used to his relationship with Riku. It wasn't that he was unsure about it, he was just always being blown away by the fact that Riku could make him feel so happy through only the smallest gestures of affection.

He backed up as Riku got out of bed, knowing that the older teen liked to get dressed in private; his traditional breeding coming out in small moments like this. Sora didn't mind though, he was happy to respect Riku's needs.

Heading downstairs while Riku got ready, Sora glanced up at the newly repaired entrance hall ceiling. It had taken a while, but now everything in the house had been repaired and was now back to normal. Humming quietly, Sora popped into the kitchen to find Leon just finishing cooking up breakfast, his dad already in his uniform. Glancing back when he heard Sora come in, Leon raised an eyebrow. "Getting dressed anytime soon?"

Sora looked down at his pajamas then grinned. "I'll have time after breakfast! Has Cloud left yet?"

"No, he was going to take a shower before he left."

"He'll be waiting for Roxas to finish then." Both he and Leon looked up as almost on cue they heard a pounding on a door from upstairs.

Cloud's voice carried down, not quite irritated but definitely hurried. "Roxas! You have five more minutes!"

Sora's grin widened and he turned his attention back to Leon. "You need to get a master bathroom."

"Believe me, it's on the renovation list…A few more months and we'll actually have the money." Leon muttered, empathizing with Cloud's pain of having to share a bathroom with three teens.

A few minutes later, Riku came downstairs, just finishing tying back his hair as Leon began to set the table. Seeing that breakfast was going to begin soon, he tilted his head to the side. "Should I go get the newspaper?"

"Sure, but I still get to read it first."

Riku narrowed his eyes but nodded after a moment. He and Leon were constantly vying over the morning newspaper in a civil sort of way. Riku because he preferred it over watching TV and Leon because he liked to absorb all the news he could. Usually Leon got it first but that seemed only because it had been engrained in Riku's mind to obey parental figures.

As if they had sensed that food was almost ready, Roxas and Cloud soon came downstairs, both of their blond spikes dripping wet as they sat down at the table. Shaking out his hair, Roxas glanced over at Sora as his brother sat across from him. "So, are you ready for that English test you complained about all the way home yesterday?" Sora almost choked on his food, coughing as Riku covered his mouth to hide a smirk with one hand and used his other to pat his boyfriend comfortingly on the back. Everyone knew the answer from that reaction and Roxas shook his head. "That's a no then. I can't believe that I'm studying more than you."

"It's senioritis," Cloud said, smirking. "Sora's getting lazy."

Sora pouted, sitting up a little straighter and now all too aware that he was the only one in his pajamas still. "I'm not lazy! I just forgot, that's all. Besides, it won't be too hard, I've just been getting a lot of tests lately. I can handle it."

Leon frowned, looking up from his newspaper long enough to glance over at Riku. "Speaking of being able to handle things. Axel called last night reminding me about your planned trip to the mall today, Riku."

Riku paled half a shade but nodded. They had slowly been introducing him to the new modern society and this would be the first time that he was going anywhere without Sora. He knew that he would be able to handle the situation, but still, the idea was a little unnerving, especially since Axel had been the one to volunteer to take him out. Axel wasn't exactly the most predictable character, nor was he the best driver.

Sensing his hesitation, Leon gave him a hint of a smile. "Cloud and I talked and we decided that we could give you a little spending money. That way at least you can pay for some food or whatever."

"That's not necessary." Riku said, shaking his head. "I don't even have a job yet, I shouldn't be taking your money."

Cloud quickly cut in. "Just think of it as allowance. Besides, we really haven't taken you on a serious clothes shopping trip or anything so we decided that if you found anything you like you should be able to buy it. Within reason of course."

Still a little taken aback by their generosity, Riku nonetheless courteously accepted the money a moment later, slipping it into his back pocket. It was true after all; he was mostly wearing Cloud or Leon's spare clothes. This was due for the most part because it had taken a while to work him up to the point where they knew he would be able to handle the stresses of modern mega stores.

The calm that had found its way into their morning routine after was suddenly interrupted by Cloud's pager going off. Starting a little in surprise, Cloud looked down at the number then hopped onto his feet. "It's Vincent, I guess he wants me in the hospital." Checking his watch he let out a small curse. "Damn it's later than I thought."

Leon stood up as well to see him out, calling to the boys on his way out of the kitchen. "Sora, Roxas, I want you ready for school in less than ten minutes."

Sora's eyes widened and he immediately left the table to bolt up to his room to desperately dress himself as the chaos of getting ready for another day began again.

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A few hours later, Sora dragged himself out of his English class as the lunch bell ring. It was not a good idea to not study. Studying was good. He would have to do it more often. Sighing, he shook his head, perking up when he thought of lunch. At least that was something to look forward to. And at least their school had an open plan; that way everyone would be able to head outside. That was nice especially because all of the trees had turned beautiful colors in the autumn air. Smiling, Sora pushed the test out of his head, thankful for his optimistic mind. A grin found its way onto his face when he spotted Kairi sitting at their usual table with Wakka, Tidus, and Selphie. Running over, he slid in between Tidus and Kairi. "Hi guys!"

"Hey Sora." Kairi grinned, nudging him in the side. "How'd the test go?"

Sora groaned, dropping his head down onto the table. "I don't wanna talk about it…"

Wakka laughed as Tidus shook his head sympathetically. "Oh well, just a few more months to go, ya?"

"Says the person whose family is offering him a job!" Kairi said. "The rest of us are going to need to go to some sort of college, that's at least four more years of school."

Selphie giggled. "Watch what you say, I think Sora just died a little. But don't worry Sora, if you need help studying next time we'll all be here to help you out!"

Sora lifted his head off of the table, pouting. "It's not that I don't have anyone to study with, I just never feel like it. If I wanted to I-" he was cut off as his stomach let out a loud growl. "I'm really hungry!"

"Better get some food before everyone else has cleaned out the cafeteria!"

Sora heeded Kairi's warning, springing from the table and heading for the cafeteria. Halfway there, he was bombarded by Roxas, the blond scowling. "I've been looking for you for the past few minutes! You have all the lunch money Leon gave us!"

Blinking, Sora looked at him for a moment before grinning sheepishly. "Oh ya, I forgot. Come on, we can both go and I'll pay for yours too."

They quickly moved through the food line, picking up whatever looked good. Sora paid for the both of them but just as they were heading back to their separate groups of friends, Roxas stopped and bumped Sora with his elbow. "Hey, Kairi's coming this way. She looks…excited?"

Sora turned, surprised as Kairi ran up to him, grabbing his arms. "Sora!"

"Whatever it was I didn't do it!" Kairi shot him a look and Sora chuckled. "Sorry, that was instinct. What's the matter?"

"Why didn't you tell me Riku was hot?" Sora stared at her blankly and Kairi explained herself. "These two guys showed up and asked for you and said their names were Axel and Riku. You never said Riku looked like a model!"

Sora had stopped listening halfway through her speech. Riku was here! At his school! Feeling like he had just won the lottery, Sora sprinted back to their table, barely avoiding other students that filled the crowded school grounds. He barely withheld a squeal as he caught sight of Riku hovering by their table. On his shopping trip he had apparently bought a dark gray trench coat, it fit so well that it looked as if it had been tailored just for him and with that and his long silver hair he really did look like a model that had walked out of a magazine.

Taking this all in within less than a second, Sora launched himself onto Riku, not caring that he was ruining Riku's cool and collected appearance when threw his arms around the older teen and laughed happily. "Riku! What are you doing here?"

Riku chuckled, his voice somewhat strained as he returned the embrace. "Axel decided it was a good idea. I imagined something smaller when he said we were going to visit your school though…"

Smiling understandingly, Sora squeezed him tighter. Riku had already been tired out by the mall and being surrounded by a bunch of noisy teenagers probably wasn't helping. Despite Riku's fatigue, Sora couldn't help but nuzzle into him, the silly grin still on his face even when he heard a familiar deeper voice behind him.

"What, so I don't even get any acknowledgement? No, 'Hey Axel, thanks for taking the socially clueless boy shopping?' What am I doing here then?"

Sora spun around in Riku's hug, sticking his tongue out at Axel. "Riku's not clueless, he could probably teach you a few things."

Axel gave a fake pout. "Now that's not nice." His eyes lit up as he saw Roxas shuffling over to them, the blond being pushed forward by a smiling Kairi. Smirking, he swooped forward. "If it isn't my favorite little freshman. Gonna give me a hug?"

Roxas's eyes narrowed dangerously. He glared at Axel then finally passed him by without a word. The smirk didn't leave Axel's face however and he took the rebuff in stride, scooping Roxas up and squeezing him tightly. Roxas squawked, red staining across his cheeks as he thrashed around. "Put me down idiot, we're in school!"

"So I can do this off school grounds then?"

Roxas froze, his cheeks reddening even more before he hissed quietly. "Put me down or I swear I'll scream 'Rape'."

Axel's eyebrows rose and he accordingly put Roxas down though the smirk was still on his face. "You know you love me. You just won't admit it yet." Roxas growled something under his breath, punching Axel in the stomach before crossing his arms over his chest.

Looking between the four of them, Wakka finally tilted his head to the side. "I think a little introductions are in order, ya? Looks like you all know each other pretty well."

Sora flushed a little in embarrassment looking around at all of his friends' awaiting expressions. Kairi was staring at him with a particularly intense look. She had been the only one who he had actually told anything to so she was probably the most curious. He really hadn't been able to not tell her about everything that happened; she was his best friend after all. Swallowing, Sora laughed weakly. "Sorry! Um, that's Axel, he's kind of a family friend." He leaned his head back, looking up at Riku. "And this is Riku!"

Riku smiled at Sora's friends, leaning forward and maneuvering around Sora to shake Tidus and Wakka's hand, sending the two girls a winning smile that would unintentionally make any person melt. The refined and almost careful way that he chose his words also betrayed his traditional breeding though only made him seem more sophisticated. "It's a pleasure to meet you." He paused, glancing down at Sora before his smile softened. "I'm Sora's boyfriend."

Selphie let out a groan of disappointment as Sora grinned, the brown-haired boy nodding happily then stepped away from Riku to indicate which person was which as he named his friends. "He's the best! Riku, these are my friends. That's Wakka, Tidus, Selphie, and Kairi!"

"I recognized Kairi," Riku said, smiling politely at the girl. "Sora has a picture of the two of you on his dresser. It's how I was able to pick you out of this crowd."

"What, you have a picture of Kairi but not the rest of us?" Tidus frowned playfully. "I see where your loyalties lie."

Sora pouted and Riku spoke up again, coming to Sora's defense. "He's actually told me quite a lot about all of you. I would have been happy to have met you sooner but I'm afraid I've been feeling a little ill during the last few months and couldn't really go out to do anything."

Sora glanced over at Riku as the silver-haired teen smiled a little at him. They had tried to think of a good alibi for how Riku came to live in their house; somehow they thought that saying he was a ghost that had come back to life really wouldn't cut it for most people. After a lot of talk among the entire family, they had decided that Riku would be some distant relative of Leon's as his family was large and lived far enough apart so no one could really argue. The story was that he had come to live with Leon but had gotten very sick and so had to stay in the house for a long period of time. It wasn't the best story, but they decided that it would probably suffice for most people.

Glancing at his watch, Axel cursed. "Shit. I've got class in an hour. Come on Riku, either I'm speeding to get you home or you're coming to my chemistry class. Which might be traumatizing, though educational. Did you know that potassium instantly combusts when it touches water? Fun stuff."

Riku winced then leaned down, pecking Sora on the top of the head. "I've got to go."

"I'd agree with that!" Sora smiled as Riku walked over to Axel, the college student reaching out to ruffle Roxas's hair, his arms long enough to still reach even when Roxas attempted to duck down.

"It's been fun. And don't worry, I'll get Riku back safe and sound."

Sora frowned warningly, though amusement was in his bright blue eyes. "You'd better or else I'll tell Leon that you were hitting on Roxas again!"

Roxas rolled his eyes as Axel pouted. "Like that would really stop him. Frickin' pedo." Despite his words though, he didn't make a move to step any farther away from Axel.

Noting this, Axel broke into a smirk and he ruffled Roxas's hair again before throwing his arm around Riku's shoulders much to the other's obvious discomfort. "Well, come on, let's get you home. Wouldn't want to get in trouble with our father-in-law after all!"

He managed to pull a blush of mortification even from Riku this time, the pale teen shaking his head as he pushed Axel's arm away, glancing at Roxas's enraged face before muttering. "And with that last quip I think it is our cue to leave." He shook his head as Axel opened his mouth to protest. "Please don't argue Axel, you won't have to live with the boy once he gets home. Are you coming home right after school, Sora?"

Sora nodded, waving happily as Riku and Axel left. As soon as they were out of sight he found himself swamped with questions, all four of his friends asking all different things at once. He held up his hands to try to quiet them down, eyes widening as he saw Roxas slipping away. "Roxas, don't leave me now!"

Roxas snorted, waving him off as he went to go back to his own group of friends. Sora pouted, his attention quickly brought back to his own friends as Selphie grabbed his arm. Laughing, he shook her off, glancing over at Kairi for help but she only grinned. He couldn't help but return the expression; his life was pretty good.


	20. Author's Note, Sequel info

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Hey, dudes! Sorry to disappoint, but this isn't a new chapter! But it's even better, I promise! I just wanted to let everyone know that I now have a sequel up to "Haunted by an Angel" called "Song of the Condemned". It's still supernatural but now it's set under the relationship category Axel/Roxas. That should make some of you happy! :D

I'm sure most of you have already seen it, but for those who haven't and liked this story, you should go check it out!

See you there!

Uale!

LoquitorLatinae


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